Ashwinter's Fate The Gray Warrior's Prophecy
by Vixen Smith
Summary: Ashwinter was born a typical RiverClan cat. Or was she? Clanmates are wary of her. She learns the shocking truths of her past & meets the turning point in her life she longs for.She will witness love, lies & loss more than any cat before her. REVIEW PLZ!
1. Chapter 1 The Lies begin

Chapter 1

Echosong looked fondly down at the three tumbling balls of fur nestled close to her belly. Swiftflight licked her ear.  
"They're perfect," he whispered.  
Echosong glanced up at her mate.  
"Help me name them." she offered.  
"Alright, the black tom can be Equinoxkit, I like the sound of that name." he smiled. Echosong nodded her agreement.  
"And the spotted tom...?" she asked.  
" Winterkit." Swiftflight meowed.  
Echosong looked at him, confused.  
" But...why Winterkit? It doesn't really suit him..." she meowed.  
" Perhaps, but look at his eyes...they're icy blue. It reminds me of winter."her mate explained.  
"Oh, I see... it does suit him after all."  
"You name the last one." he urged.  
Echosong focused on her remaining kit, a gray female.  
"Ashkit." she mewed finally.  
"Perfect names for perfect kits." Swiftflight sighed.  
Echosong licked each kit over again.  
" Now comes the dreaded part. Which Clan should they be raised in?" she asked.  
"Yours." Swiftflight answered automatically. "They should be raised in RiverClan with you, so your Clanmates aren't suspicious as to what happened to them."  
Echosong stared solemnly at the ground.  
"OK," she sighed at last, " But they would have made amazing ShadowClan warriors."  
"I know."  
Equinoxkit looked up happily at his father, completely unaware as to what was going on. Winterkit and Ashkit huddled together on the cold leaf-bare ground. Swiftflight gazed sadly at his kits.  
"Take them quickly. Go!" he hissed at his mate.  
Echosong stood up stiffly, then, after touching her muzzle to Swiftflight's, she picked up Winterkit and slipped off towards RiverClan camp, with Equinoxkit and Ashkit tumbling after her.


	2. Chapter 2 A Family's Love

Chapter 2

It was almost sundown when Echosong stumbled into RiverClan camp. Her Clanmates were about ready to go to sleep, but fortunately her sister, Whitetail, noticed her. Whitetail rushed over to her sister.  
"Thank StarClan your safe, Echosong, I've been looking for you all day!" she cried.  
Echosong grunted.  
"I didn't know I was so close to having my kits..." she lied.  
Whitetail licked her sister's ear.  
"All of you are safe now, and that's what matters." she meowed.  
Whitetail picked up Ashkit and placed her on her mother's back, then picked up Equinoxkit and together the sisters carried the three exhausted kits to the nursery.

After a good nights' rest, the rest of the Clan was taking notice of their return. Grudgingly, Echosong allowed her Clanmates to cluster around in the entrance to the nursery and have a look at her kits.  
'Attention,' she thought, ' great. Just what we all need.'  
Echosong was not one to voice her sarcasm, she knew it would be lost on most anyway. Skyleaf, the other queen in the nursery, was not so cautious about her words. She ushered everyone away with her harsh words, but Echosong didn't listen. She was still so tired...  
"There, now that those nasty, flea-bitten mouse brains are out of here, you can rest." Skyleaf meowed.  
Echosong nodded her thanks and promptly fell asleep, like all three of her kits had.


	3. Chapter 3 Apprenticeship

Chapter 3

****_**6 MOONS LATER**_

**Equinoxkit trembled violently as his mother groomed him.  
"Oh, for StarClan's sake, Equinoxkit, can't you sit still for even one minuet?" Echosong sighed.  
"I'm sorry mother, I'm just so nervous..."he stuttered.  
Winterkit rolled his eyes and glanced at Ashkit.  
"There's nothing to be worried about." Winterkit replied.  
Equinoxkit blink his thanks to his brother.  
"It's not the ceremony, it's Dustkit, I'm worried He's going to keep picking on me." Equinoxkit mewled.  
The two litters hadn't really ever gotten along. Skyleaf's kits, Dustkit and Bluekit, weren't always as civil to Equinoxkit, Winterkit and Ashkit as Skyleaf and Echosong would have liked.  
"I don't think he'll try. Besides, if he does, Ashkit'll set him straight." Winterkit whispered eagerly.  
"Hey!" Ashkit cried. "I don't think Dustkit will cause trouble anyway, not with the older apprentices around."  
Echosong finished styling Equinoxkit's fur. The three kits sat in a row in front of their mother.  
"Now, there's nothing to be nervous about. Just stay calm, quiet and obedient during the ceremony. Everything will be fine." she meowed.  
"Yes, mother." the kits chorused.  
Echosong smiled at her children.  
Suddenly Yellowstar yowled from the Hightree  
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Hightree for an Apprentice naming ceremony!"  
Ashkit followed her brothers out of the nursery. Dustkit and Bluekit followed her. Bluekit bounced up to walk beside Ashkit.  
"Scared?" she asked.  
"Never in a million seasons." Ashkit retorted.  
"I am. I wonder who my mentor will be..." Bluekit let out a deep breath. Ashkit felt a rush of compassion for her. Bluekit had always been somewhat nicer to Ashkit than she was to her brothers, but they weren't great friends.  
"I'm sure our mentors will be right for us." Ashkit assured her. Bluekit smiled at her.  
" I'm glad we're friends, Ashkit." she meowed.  
'Friends?' Ashkit thought. 'Since when?'  
"Yeah...me too."  
By now they were at the base of the Hightree. The five apprentices sat in a row. Ashkit sat tall and proud, she wasn't scared. Equinoxkit sat next to her, he was still trembling and was crouched over somewhat. Winterkit fiddled with his paws, completely casual. Bluekit and Dustkit looked slightly nervous, each trying to hide their fear. Yellowstar stared down at them, her amber eyes boring into each kit.  
"We are gathered here today to name five new apprentices," the leader addressed her Clan. Turning to the kits, she began  
"Bluekit, Dustkit, Winterkit, Ashkit and Equinoxkit."  
Equinoxkit started at his name.  
"Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and train hard to become warriors?" she inquired.  
"We do!" the kits replied together.  
"Then from this day forth, Bluekit, you will be known as Bluepaw. Your mentor will be Leafnose."  
Bluepaw stepped forward and the two she-cats touched noses.  
"Dustkit, From now on you will be known as Dustpaw. Your mentor will be Darkflower."  
Dustpaw touched his muzzle to Darkflower's.  
"Winterkit. You will be known as Winterpaw. Your mentor will be Whitespot." The two toms followed Dustpaw and Darkflower's example.  
"Ashkit, you will be Ashpaw and your mentor will be Smoketail."  
Ashpaw stepped towards Smoketail and touched her nose.  
"Lastly, Equinoxkit. You will be Equinoxpaw. Burnpelt will be your mentor."  
Equinoxpaw cautiously stepped forth, still trembling. Burnpelt gave him an encouraging smile and also touched his apprentice's nose. Equinoxpaw stepped back, looking relieved.  
"I put my trust in you, Leafnose, Darkflower, Whitespot, Smoketail and Burnpelt. I hope I have made the right choices for mentors for these five apprentices." Yellowstar meowed seriously. The new mentors nodded solemnly. Yellowstar hopped down from the Hightree and trotted over to the apprentices.  
"Work hard, and you will be rewarded. Best of luck to you all." she meowed as she passed. The apprentices looked at eachother before making their way to the apprentice den to make their nests for the upcoming nights. **


	4. Chapter 4 The First Lessons

Chapter 4

**"Ashpaw! Ashpaw, wake up!"  
Ashpaw was roused by Bluepaw.  
"What?" she asked groggily.  
"Smoketail told me to come get you. We're going on our first hunting lesson together!" Bluepaw explained.  
"Oh, Okay, I'll be right there." Ashpaw replied.  
Ashpaw yawned and arched her back in a stretch. She padded out of the apprentice den and towards Smoketail, Leafnose and Bluepaw. Bluepaw quaked with barely-contained excitement.  
"Good morning, are you ready for some hunting?" Smoketail asked.  
"Definitely." Ashpaw replied, more awake now.  
"We will head down towards the river to catch some fish. It's calm today." Leafnose meowed.  
Smoketail nodded her agreement. Together the four cats headed out of camp.**

"Do you think you'll catch a fish?" Bluepaw asked.  
"I sure hope so." Ashpaw meowed.  
Up ahead, the river gurgled by. Ashpaw padded up to the water. She could see fish slip by under the clear, glassy water.  
"Bluepaw! You can _**see**_** the fish!" she exclaimed.  
Bluepaw rushed over and gasped in awe.  
"They are so pretty!" she meowed.  
"'They' are our food." Leafnose replied.  
"Let's get started." Smoketail padded up next to Leafnose.  
"Let your paw hover a little ways above the surface. When a fish swims towards you, dip your paw into the water when it's right beneath it. Try to skewer it on your claws and flick it out onto the riverbed, quick as lightning." Smoketail instructed.  
Ashpaw and Bluepaw exchanged a glance. Bluepaw's paw quivered just above the water.  
"Like this?" she asked.  
Suddenly, Bluepaw submerged her paw and flicked it out again, sending a fat fish flying out of the water, only to splash back in and continue swimming.  
"Mouse dung!" she spat.  
"Close, you just need to get it on the grass now." Leafnose meowed.  
"Ashpaw, you try now." Bluepaw urged.  
"...Okay." Ashpaw moved up to the river.  
She eyed a fish swimming towards her. She mimicked Bluepaw and flicked out of the water, but she tried to curve it towards her. It careened through the air and splattered against a rock jutting out of the water.  
"Again, close," Smoketail smiled, "But the wrong rock."  
Ashpaw wrinkled her nose, suddenly catching the scent of a water vole.  
"Perhaps we should start out on something a little easier." she mewed.  
Ashpaw stalked towards the vole, which was scuffling loudly in a patch of gorse, and launched her body on top of it. It let out a startled squeak before it was crushed under her body weight. Ashpaw picked it up proudly and trotted back to her mentor. Smoketail shook with surprised laughter.  
"Well done, a rather good catch for your first day as an apprentice, but we will need to work on your...approach." her mentor grinned at her.  
"Good job, Ashpaw!" Bluepaw bounced up to her.  
"And to you, you almost had that fish!" Ashpaw meowed.  
"When we get back to camp, I suggest you keep that vole for yourself, I don't think the elders would be too happy with it, seeing as it's all squished and all!" Bluepaw laughed.  
"Okay, I'm with you on that one! Would you like to share it with me?" Ashpaw offered?  
Bluepaw looked even happier.  
"Would I ever!"  
"Then let's go!" Leafnose mewed. "It's time we were getting back to camp."**

****

**When they were back in camp, Ashpaw and Bluepaw were sharing the vole underneath the Hightree when Winterpaw and Dustpaw stalked sourly up to them.  
"So how was it then?" Winterpaw pouted.  
"How was what?" Bluepaw asked.  
Dustpaw rolled his eyes. "You're hunting lesson, of course."  
"Oh fine. Both of us almost caught a fish!" Bluepaw meowed.  
"Yeah and I caught this vole!" Ashpaw meowed.  
"By squishing it!" Bluepaw replied.  
Ashpaw smiled at her friend.  
"Pff, good job, sissy." Winterpaw muttered.  
"Don't call me that! Why what did you do today?" Ashpaw retorted.  
"Cleaned out the elder's bedding, of course." Dustpaw answered for him.  
"Fun..." Bluepaw meowed.  
"You'll have to do it too!" her brother panted.  
Bluepaw rolled her eyes. Just then Darkflower trotted up.  
"Isn't it time you new apprentices were getting to sleep?" she asked.  
Her instruction was obvious.  
"Yes, Darkflower." Dustpaw sighed. "Come on, guys."  
The apprentices left the remains of the vole and headed off for their den. Curled up in her nests, Ashpaw examined a dove feather lodged in the moss. Winterpaw snored quietly next to her.  
"Ashpaw." Bluepaw whispered from across the den.  
"Yeah?" Ashpaw whispered back.  
"Tomorrow, can you teach me how to squish a vole?" Bluepaw asked.  
Dustpaw snickered softly.  
"Shut up." Ashpaw replied before drifting off into sleep.**


	5. Chapter 5 Envy & Vows are Empty Words?

Chapter 5

**Equinoxpaw shook violently.  
"Just pounce!" Ashpaw urged.  
"I-I can't!" he stuttered.  
Dustpaw crouched impatiently in front of Equinoxpaw.  
"Seriously, Equinoxpaw, just **_**go**_**!" Dustpaw sighed.  
"B-but I don't wanna h-hurt you." Equinoxpaw was still stuttering.  
Ashpaw rolled her eyes. She didn't see her brother learning anything about battle today anytime soon. Smirking wickedly, Ashpaw threw herself at her brother. He gave a startled yelp before tumbling head over heels onto Dustpaw. Ashpaw watched, satisfied.  
"What was that for?!" Equinoxpaw cried.  
Ashpaw snorted. "You weren't going to move. Honestly, no ShadowClan cat is going to wait for some one to push you onto them."  
"Ashpaw is right. Sometimes accidents do happen during training, but every apprentice comes out with a few bumps and bruises at some point." Burnpelt told him gently.  
Equinoxpaw only nodded, ashamed.  
"Ashpaw, show your brother what to do." Smoketail instructed.  
Ashpaw nodded. Facing Dustpaw, she crouched down, claws sheathed. Dustpaw drew back his lips to reveal white, pointed fangs in mockery. Determined to show she was unafraid, Ashpaw rushed forward, only to draw back again. Dustpaw was startled at her tactics. It was Ashpaw's turn to smirk now. The two circled eachother, light on their paws. Suddenly, Ashpaw launched herself onto Dustpaw, knocking him off his paws. She pinned him down, front paws on either side of his head, one back paw pressed against his belly. Dustpaw, seeing he couldn't scratch at her soft underbelly, knew he was defeated.  
"Well done!" Smoketail praised.  
Smiling, Ashpaw jumped off her denmate and trotted towards her mentor. Suddenly, she crashed down onto the ground, legs pinned beneath her body.  
"Never turn your back on an enemy." Dustpaw hissed in her ear.  
"Thanks for that." she hissed back. Dustpaw got off her back.  
"Now, Equinoxpaw, try again." Burnpelt meowed.  
"...Okay." he replied.  
Equinoxpaw pounced towards Dustpaw, who was waiting. Just in time, Dustpaw sidestepped and Equinoxpaw hit the ground with a loud thud. Dustpaw pounced on him. Not to be defeated, Equinoxpaw flipped his body over and squashed Dustpaw against the ground.  
"It's almost sunhigh, we'd best be getting back to camp." Darkflower announced.  
The others agreed and bound off back to camp.**

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Hightree for a Warrior naming ceremony!" Yellowstar's voice rang out across RiverClan camp.  
Bluepaw and Ashpaw trotted out together and sat together. The senior apprentices, Wingpaw and Aspenpaw, sat neatly and freshly groomed together at the base of the Hightree. Once the Clan was assembled, Yellowstar confronted them.  
"Wingpaw, Aspenpaw, you have trained hard to become warriors. You will now be rewarded."  
Then, turning her head to the sky, Yellowstar's voice rose loudly.  
"StarClan, please look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to learn and follow your Warrior Code."  
She looked down at Wingpaw and Aspenpaw again.  
"Wingpaw, do you promise to uphold the Warrior Code and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your own life?" Yellowstar asked.  
Wingpaw flushed. "I do." the she-cat replied breathlessly.  
"Then by the power vested in me by StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Wingpaw, from this day forward you will be known as Wingflower."  
Next she turned to Aspenpaw.  
"Aspenpaw, do you promise to uphold the Warrior Code and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Yellowstar's amber eyes flashed.  
"I do," the tom replied.  
"Then by the power vested in me by StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Aspenpaw, from this day on you will be named Aspenmoon."  
The Clan rose in cheers, "Wingflower, Aspenmoon!"  
"It can't be long now till our warrior ceremonies," Bluepaw whispered to Ashpaw, "I mean, we've been at it for nearly a season!"  
"I know," Ashpaw replied.  
The Clan began to beak away, shouting out their congratulations to the new warriors. Wingflower and Aspenmoon walked past where Ashpaw and Bluepaw were sitting. Aspenmoon cast a meaningful glance at Bluepaw, who flushed as he walked away.  
"Isn't he so amazing?" Bluepaw asked in a dreamy voice.  
"Um..." Ashpaw wasn't quite sure how to reply. "I hadn't really thought of it."  
"I know you don't like him the way I do, Ashpaw." Bluepaw meowed. " But one day you'll find some one to love, too." her friend sighed.  
Ashpaw looked confused. "But I do have cats to love, my brothers and my mother!" she meowed.  
"I don't think you really love them." Bluepaw replied. "I mean to say, I've seen the looks you give them, and I think you express barely-contained annoyance."  
Ashpaw started. "But you have a brother, do you not love him?!"  
Bluepaw looked at her friend. " You know what I think?" she asked.  
Ashpaw rolled her eyes. "Oh, what?"  
"I think it would be so cool if you became Dustpaw's mate." Bluepaw smiled.  
Ashpaw felt her jaw practically hit the ground. "No. Just...no! That would _**never**_** happen! I'm sorry, Bluepaw, I just don't think I'll ever love anyone over my family." Ashpaw meowed harshly.  
Bluepaw shook her head. "I disagree."  
"Family will always come first for me!" Ashpaw growled.  
"Family," Bluepaw sighed," you don't even know who the other half of your family is."  
Anger bubbled inside Ashpaw.  
"Oh, and I suppose you do!" and with that, Ashpaw turned and stalked off towards the apprentice den. Bluepaw watched her friend go sadly.  
"I will find you some one to love, Ashpaw," Bluepaw vowed to herself, "I **_**will**_**. And there is nothing you can do to stop me. You can't push them away forever." **


	6. Chapter 6 The First Knowing

Chapter 6

Ashpaw pouted in her nest. She was still mad at Bluepaw. The nerve of some cats! How could she think of mates, when she had to be strong for her family? Winterpaw seemed to do a good job of hiding his depression, but it was obvious that Equinoxpaw couldn't handle the secrets within her family. Once, they asked their mother who their father was. That was the first and last time they ever did. Just then Winterpaw trotted in and sat down next to his sister.  
"Hey sissy! It'll be our turn to become warriors in a couple moons, you know!" he exclaimed.  
Ashpaw's anger evaporated at her younger brother's excitement. "Yeah! I wish it were sooner."  
"Me too. I don't think I can stand clearing out elder's bedding another day!" Dustpaw added as he walked in.  
Ashpaw nodded her agreement. Bluepaw burst into the den, panting.  
"Guys! I heard Yellowstar talking to Crookedjaw! She said this would be the last meeting she calls for the Clan!" she meowed.  
"What?!" Winterpaw exclaimed.  
"But... that just can't be!" Dustpaw meowed.  
"What do you suppose she means?" Bluepaw asked.  
The den was silent for many moments.  
"It means she is going to die." Ashpaw meowed quietly.  
The apprentices exchanged glances. Ashpaw stared solemnly at the ground.  
"We better keep quiet about this." Dustpaw whispered.  
The others agreed and curled up in their nests to fall into restless sleeps.

"Yellowstar is dead!" Crookedjaw yowled from the Hightree. The Clan broke into startled and shocked mews. Burtail stepped out of Yellowstar's den and rushed over to Crookedjaw. She whispered something in his ear. Crookedjaw jumped back up to the Hightree. The Clan turned it's attention to him once more.  
"Burtail tells me that Yellowstar passed to StarClan in her sleep." he announced.  
The cats again broke into murmurs.  
"Tonight I will travel to the Moonstone to receive my nine lives and tomorrow, I will chose a new deputy." Crookedstar meowed as two elders carried Yellowstar's body out into the clearing.  
"She looks so peaceful." Equinoxpaw murmured.  
Ashpaw nodded her agreement. How could Yellowstar have known she was to die so soon? Ashpaw didn't voice her question, so it was to remain unanswered.


	7. Chapter 7 Rewards

Chapter 7

**"Do you think Crookedstar made the right choice?" Equinoxpaw murmured to his sister.  
Ashpaw paused before replying.  
"No. But I do think we should give Oakheart a chance at deputy." she meowed.  
"I dunno, guys, Oakheart seems kinda..." Bluepaw trailed off.  
"Murderous?" Equinoxpaw and Ashpaw suggested together.  
"Yeah." Bluepaw meowed.  
Dustpaw walked in, shuddering.  
"Have you heard that guy's **_**voice**_**?" he asked, "It sounds like stones raking across eachother!"  
Winterpaw spoke up.  
"Be nice to him! Who cares if he's kinda creepy? At least we **_**have **_**a deputy!" he meowed.  
"True." Equinoxpaw mewed.  
Aspenmoon trotted past the apprentices.  
"Oh StarClan, do I look OK?" Bluepaw hissed.  
Dustpaw rolled his eyes.  
"Don't start!" he moaned.  
"No seriously, I want to make a good impression!" his sister retorted.  
"Okay...moving on. When do you think our assessments will be?" Ashpaw asked.  
"Soon, hopefully." Winterpaw replied.  
"Within the moon." Dustpaw agreed.  
Equinoxpaw smiled," How about...sooner rather than later?" he suggested.  
"Hey, Dustpaw!" Darkflower called," Come on! You apprentices are having your assessments today!"  
"Ha! Ironic much?" Ashpaw laughed.  
Dustpaw butted her ion the back.  
"Let's just go!" he yowled.  
Bluepaw jumped after the others. Meeting up with the mentors, the five friends bound out of the camp.**

"Alright," Leafnose began," First we will do the battle assessments."  
Okay, Dustpaw and Winterpaw are up first. Dustpaw will attack and Winterpaw will defend." Burnpelt instructed.  
The two nodded and faced eachother.  
"Good luck." Winterpaw whispered.  
"And you." Dustpaw replied.  
Dustpaw jumped at Winterpaw, but Winterpaw was fast. He sidestepped and pounced onto Dustpaw when the light brown tom crashed down to Earth. Dustpaw struggled to get up, be he was pinned.  
"Well done, Winterpaw and Dustpaw! Now switch. Winterpaw, attack and Dustpaw, defend." Darkflower meowed.  
The battle went similar to the first round, Dustpaw pinning Winterpaw on his stomach.  
"Next up, Equinoxpaw and Bluepaw." Whitespot meowed.  
Equinoxpaw, his confidence now grown, faked a pounce at Bluepaw, confusing her. Then he barreled into her, knocking her off her paws and into the undergrowth.  
"Equinoxpaw, good job! Bluepaw, you attack now."  
Bluepaw crouched low and circled Equinoxpaw quickly. Stealthily, she slipped underneath him and battered at his belly. Equinoxpaw gave a startled cry and jumped onto her belly. Bluepaw gasped and flipped herself back up, panting.  
"Well done, both of you." Whitespot praised.  
"Ashpaw, you will fight me." Smoketail meowed.  
Ashpaw felt a surge of surprise and nervousness. Fight her mentor?  
"Alright." she replied confidently.  
Ashpaw faced Smoketail and rushed forward then pulled back, like she had done with Dustpaw before. Smoketail jumped back momentarily confused. Ashpaw saw her chance and took it. She pounced over Smoketail's head and onto her back, lodging her claws into the fur to keep a hold. Smoketail tried to roll, but Ashpaw quickly sprung up and landed, perfectly balanced, on her mentor's belly, crouched with her jaws inches away from her throat.  
"Good, Ashpaw." Leafnose meowed.  
Ashpaw jumped off her mentor and sat with the other apprentices.  
"Well done, all of you." Burnpelt mewed, his gaze sweeping over all five of them.  
"Now for your hunting assessment. Go off and catch as much pray as you can before we call you back. Ready...go!" Leafnose mewed.  
The apprentices bound off across the territory. Ashpaw parted her jaws and caught the scent of pigeon. Stalking through the heather, she pounced on the unsuspecting bird and killed it before it could sound off a warning call. She buried her catch under a holly bush and continued on. Later she could hear Whitespot calling for the apprentices to return. Ashpaw picked up he catches, cosseting of a pigeon, two mice, a water vole and a fish, and carried them back. She was the first to arrive. Smoketail inspected her catches and praised her. Winterpaw came back with three mice, two fish and a grouse. Dustpaw had a vole, three fish and three mice also, and Bluepaw brought back four mice and two sandpipers. Equinoxpaw returned with three fish and five mice.  
"A hefty load!" Darkflower exclaimed, "The Clan will eat well with hunters like you five."  
The apprentices, glowing with pride, followed their mentors back to camp.

Depositing their freshkill on the pile, the apprentices trotted to their den.  
"I thought I was going to miss that last mouse!" Dustpaw exclaimed.  
"We all did really well." Equinoxpaw meowed.  
"Right. Not long now and we'll be warriors!" Dustpaw gloated.  
Ashpaw snickered.  
"Give it a while, guys." Bluepaw teased.  
"How long?" Winterpaw asked.  
"Hmm...a couple days, give or take." Ashpaw replied.  
Winterpaw smiled. Curling up in their nests, the five drifted off into excited slumbers.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Hightree for a Warrior Naming ceremony!" Crookedstar yowled. Ashpaw, Winterpaw, Equinoxpaw, Bluepaw and Dustpaw sat proudly at the base of the tree, where Aspenmoon and Wingflower had sat not long ago. Echosong and Skyheart sat nearby, glowing with pride. Slowly, the rest of the Clan assembled around them. Crookedstar looked down at the five cats.  
"Ashpaw, Winterpaw, Equinoxpaw, Bluepaw and Dustpaw. You have all trained hard to learn to defend your Clan. Do you promise with your life's blood to defend you Clan, even at the cost of your life?" he began.  
"I do." the apprentices replied together.  
"Then I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these five apprentices. They have trained hard to learn and follow your noble code, and now is the time to reward them. Dustpaw, RiverClan honors your Leadership and Courage, from now on your name will be Dustrise." Crookedstar meowed.  
Dustrise dipped his head respectfully.  
"Bluepaw your Clan honors your Concern for others and your Loyalty. You will be known as Bluefire."  
Bluefire nodded solemnly. "Thank you, Crookedstar."  
"Equinoxpaw, RiverClan honors your Confidence and Common Sense, which many seem to be lacking nowadays. You will be called Equinoxrise."  
Equinoxrise murmured his thanks.  
"Winterpaw. RiverClan honors your Strength and Dedication. You will be known as, from this moment on, Winterfury."  
Winterfury dipped his head.  
"Ashpaw. RiverClan honors your Fearlessness and Quiet Determination. Forevermore you will be known as Ashwinter."  
Ashwinter also dipped her head.  
"Let you five be an Inspiration to us all. May StarClan light your paths." Crookedstar finished.  
"Dustrise! Bluefire! Equinoxrise! Winterfury! Ashwinter!" the Clan chorused.  
"Congratulations." Echosong murmured to her children.  
"Thank you, mother." Equinoxrise answered for all of them.  
The new warriors padded to the warrior den to find their nests already made. It was nearly moonhigh, they figured they best be getting to sleep. Winterfury lay down next to Ashwinter.  
"Winterfury? I don't get the "fury" part..." he whispered.  
"Be glad you have your warrior name." Ashwinter hissed.  
"Still, sometimes I wonder what that old quack is thinking..."he mewed.  
Ashwinter jabbed him with her hind paw. "Be nice!"  
Winterfury sighed "Fine..."  
"I agree with you, Winterfury..." Dustrise muttered," But can we please get some sleep?"  
"Shut up." Bluefire groaned.  
"...Sorry." Winterfury meowed.  
"Just go to sleep." Equinoxrise murmured.  
"." Bluefire snorted.  
"." Dustrise taunted her.  
"Dustrise..."Winterfury warned.  
"SHUT UP!!" Bluefire almost yowled.  
"What's got her fur in a ruffle?" Dustrise muttered before falling into sleep like every one else.


	8. Chapter 8 Our Proudest Night,Oh Yea Not

Chapter 8

**Ashwinter yawned. Winterfury was still curled up next to her in a tight ball. Ashwinter paused and stared quietly into space, relishing the fact that she was finally a warrior. Bluefire popped her head into the warrior den.  
"Ashwinter! You better eat soon; we have to sit vigil tonight. It's almost time!"  
Ashwinter started. How long had she slept?  
"Should I wake the others?" she asked.  
Bluefire nodded. Ashwinter prodded Winterfury.  
"Wha...?" he looked drowsy.  
"We have to sit vigil soon." Ashwinter hissed.  
Bluefire had already awoken Dustrise.  
"Equinoxrise is outside already." Bluefire whispered.  
Aspenmoon stirred in his nest. "Do you five mind shutting up for a while? Some of us would like to sleep while the moon's still out!"  
"Sorry!" Bluefire squeaked.  
Ashwinter padded out to the fresh-kill pile. She chose a plump vole to share with Winterfury. Winterfury sat nearby, still half asleep. He glanced up into the sky.  
"What a crazy furball. The moon's not even out yet!" he meowed.  
Ashwinter rolled her eyes "Whatever."  
" Well, he is." Winterfury meowed indignantly as he settled down with his sister to eat the vole.  
"Maybe you shouldn't slam-talk your Clanmates." Ashwinter chided.  
When they were finished eating, the pair headed off to meet the others for their night of silence.  
Dustrise yawned. "I hope morning comes on quick wings."  
"Me, too." Bluefire agreed.  
Ashwinter nodded and sat down for what was going to be a long night. **


	9. Chapter 9 Here Comes Trouble

Chapter 9

**Ashwinter quietly stalked through the undergrowth, making no sound. She focused intently on the unsuspecting shrew in front of her. She pounced and killed it quickly.  
"Good catch, Ashwinter!" Dustrise called.  
"Thanks." she replied.  
It was nearly sunhigh--time for the hunting patrol to be getting back to camp. Ashwinter trotted through the ferns at Dustrise's side with her shrew. A strange scent suddenly tickled her nose--a cat's scent. Ashwinter didn't recognize it.  
"Do you smell that?" she asked.  
Dustrise tasted the air. "Barely," he replied, " but yes. I don't recognize it, though."  
"Me, neither."  
Away behind, Honeymallow and Burnpelt had stopped, too.  
"ShadowClan." Honeymallow hissed through her thrush.  
"I thought something reeked of carrion," Burnpelt muttered.  
Tracking the scent, the patrol was surprised to find that it lead to camp.  
"This could mean trouble. Try to keep calm," Dustrise murmured in Ashwinter's ear.  
"I don't think that will be a problem." she whispered back.  
"I just want you to keep your temper under control..." he explained quickly.  
"When is it ever out of control?" she inquired.  
"Shut up and come on," Burnpelt mewed.  
The patrol entered camp. Almost immediately Ashwinter spotted him. And recognized him. Tigerstar. What was he doing in RiverClan?**

**Ashwinter and Dustrise froze together, as if it had been rehearsed. Tigerstar's amber gaze met Ashwinter's light blue. Ashwinter was surprised to find that she felt nothing...no fear, no hatred, nothing. Dustrise's fur stood on end with hostility. Tigerstar dipped his head to the patrol and exchanged a quiet word with Crookedstar. He trotted towards the camp exit. Ashwinter drew her tail down Dustrise's back as a warning. He let it lie flat at her touch. Tigerstar walked past them slowly, their eyes still locked together. Ashwinter turned her head as he turned his when he walked past. Still she felt calm. She wrenched her gaze from the ShadowClan leader and stared out into the camp. No cat spoke a word. Crookedstar stared intently after Tigerstar, as if daring him to come back. It was obvious her leader was angry about something. Crookedstar turned abruptly and headed for his den after hissing something to Leopardfur. The deputy nodded and flicked her tail, signaling Honeymallow and Blackfeather to follow her. The three bound out of camp and after Tigerstar.  
"I wonder what all the fuss is about," Dustrise murmured.  
"Whatever it is, Crookedstar isn't happy about it." she replied. The two padded in and deposited their fresh-kill. Dustrise trotted over to Winterfury.  
"What did we miss?" he asked.  
"Tigerstar waltzed into our camp like he owned the place and asked Crookedstar to join "TigerClan". Crookedstar refused, of course. That's when your patrol arrived." he replied with obvious hostility.  
"I wonder what TigerClan is **_**for."**_** Equinoxrise added.  
"I don't think it's a good thing, whatever it is." Ashwinter meowed.  
Leopardfur, Honeymallow and Blackfeather crashed into camp.  
"Tigerstar has left RiverClan territory." she announced.  
"Good ridience."Winterfury mumbled.  
Crookedstar emerged from his den and padded over to the fresh-kill pile. For the first time, Ashwinter noticed how old and frail her leader had been leader for a couple seasons now, and he was a senior warrior when he became leader.  
"He looks so sick..." Winterfury commented.  
Silently, Ashwinter agreed. Although she hated to think it, she wondered how much longer Crookedstar would live. He was on his last life, after all. He had been through so much already. Oakheart had died recently, and Leopardfur replaced him. Also Silverstream, his daughter, had had a ThunderClan warrior's kits, and she died while giving birth. Ashwinter couldn't imagine the pain he must have felt when his brother died and his daughter's betrayal shortly before she died. She watched the old cat slink away, tail dragging in the dust, into his den. **


	10. Chapter 10 Losing You is what Hurts Most

Chapter 10

**Ashwinter awoke to loud voices. She blinked and shook her head, clearing away any remaining grogginess. She padded up to Bluefire.  
"What have I missed this time?" she asked sharply.  
Bluefire hesitated before answering. "Crookedstar is dead!" she wailed in distraught.  
Ashwinter felt the overwhelming calmness settle over her conscious again. She had had a feeling Crookedstar would go soon...  
"How did it happen?" she asked quietly.  
"He just slipped away in his sleep like Yellowstar did." her friend sobbed.  
Finally, Ashwinter felt the sheer shock and horror everyone else was feeling. She turned her head away from Crookedstar's body. Honeymallow sat sullenly on Ashwinter's other side. Leopardfur stared with half-closed eyes at the ground. Dustrise padded over to his sister and denmates.  
"I can't believe it." he meowed, shaking his head slowly.  
"Me neither," she agreed quietly.  
The Clan, still in distraught, sobbed and shook around Crookedstar's body. Equinoxrise looked expectantly at Leopardfur.  
"Leopardfur. You are RiverClan's leader now. Please be strong for the weak and lead our Clanmates out of sorrow?" he addressed her.  
Leopardfur glanced up at him, acknowledging what he had said.  
"Cats of RiverClan," she began, " Crookedstar's death is indeed a tragedy. But we have seen more cats come and go over the seasons than there is fish in the river. We must get over his passing as quickly as we can. I will travel to the Moonstone today to receive my nine lives. Stonefur," the gray tom held his new leader's gaze, " will be our new deputy." Leopardfur turned briskly away and headed out of the camp.  
"She's not taking travelling herbs?" Winterfury asked. No cat answered. No cat was ready to argue with a cat like Leopardfur. The elders prepared Crookedstar's body for burial. Ashwinter turned away and padded out of the camp. She needed fresh air, to be away from all the grief. Suddenly, a strange scent caught in her throat. It was a cat's scent, she realized, but not a Clan cat. A rouge? No, there was twoleg scent mingled with it! It was faint but it was there. Ashwinter shrugged. Probably just a kittypet that passed by earlier today. She would report it later. Ashwinter trudged on. What she did not notice was a pair of pale yellow eyes following her from the high branch of a tree, their body hidden in the dense leaves of autumn.**


	11. Chapter 11 We are Surrounded by Cowards

Chapter 11

****

Bluefire greeted Ashwinter when she got back to camp. Bluefire was still really shaken--it was easy to see. Ashwinter supposed she needed her more than ever now.  
"When are you so affected by Crookedstar's death?" Ashwinter ventured to ask.  
Bluefire glanced at her. "I don't know. I always felt so safe, and even supported when he was around."  
"I see." Ashwinter nodded.  
Stars began to poke through the clouds. " I'm sure Leopardfur--_**star**_**, sorry, will be equally as good a leader." Bluefire meowed. Ashwinter thought she could hear strain and determination in her friend's voice, as if she was trying to convince herself.  
"Ashwinter! Bluefire! Come on, we better go to sleep!" Equinoxrise called.  
"Yea, sure thing!" Bluefire replied.  
Equinoxrise passed them on their way into the warrior's den.  
"I'm on night watch," he explained," be quiet when you go in, Honeymallow has been all jumpy because of her nightmares."  
"What has she been dreaming about?" Ashwinter whispered.  
Equinoxrise shrugged. "You know, blood, despair, death...the usual."  
"Okay," Bluefire nodded and the two padded into the den. Honeymallow was breathing heavily, twitching occasionally.  
"Poor thing," Bluefire sympathized. She settled down in a nest next to Aspenmoon. Leaving Ashwinter with a nest next to Dustrise, she promptly started snoring softly. Ashwinter sighed. Dustrise was definitely not her favorite cat. He could be so cruel sometimes, was **_**so**_** antisocial, and was overly concerned about his sister and her friend. It bothered Ashwinter, he annoyed her. Still, his intentions seemed to be good. Settling down, Ashwinter drew her tail over her nose and listened to the steady rise and fall of his breathing, sometimes interrupted by Honeymallow's tail whipping across his face when another spasm overtook her.  
**

***~~*******

Ashwinter was jolted awake by Dustrise when her sat up suddenly, extremely tense. The other warriors stirred awake around her.  
"What's going on?" she asked.  
"ShadowClan," Dustrise answered, "We are under attack!"  
Ashwinter followed him out of the den to find the RiverClan camp infested with ShadowClan warriors, Tigerstar standing triumphantly on the Hightree.


	12. Chapter 12 A Turn for the Worse

Chapter 12

**Ashwinter gasped at the destruction and despair of her Clanmates. What a cowardly attack! Striking when everyone was asleep, and the leader was out at the Moonstone! Dustrise yowled and flung himself into battle. Desperately, Ashwinter searched for Equinoxrise. Winterfury wasn't in the battle yet. She spotted her older brother boxing with a gray tabby tom. Relaxing somewhat, Ashwinter assessed the battle, wondering where to pounce. A strange feeling wafted over her, like eyes burning into her pelt. Whipping around, her gaze met with Tigerstar's stare. Anger replaced the old feeling. Why was he watching **_**her**_**? A small rustling made her look back to the battle. A large calico tom was stalking towards her. Ashwinter crouched down, preparing to fight. **

" **A little thin to be a warrior, don't you think? Run for your life, little flower, we wouldn't want to scratch that pretty face, now, would we?" he growled.**

**Ashwinter looked defiantly at him. " I don't think I'd care if a ShadowClan warrior disfigured my face so horribly that my own leader would not look at me ever again, as long as my opponent no longer walked in living daylight!"**

" **Ooh, she's brave too!" he taunted her.**

"**You better believe it!" she hissed. **

**Suddenly, the tom sat up. "What's your name, flower?" he asked.**

" **What's it matter to a ShadowClan cat?" she felt a jab of annoyance.**

" **Possibly a lot." He pleaded with his eyes.**

**Ashwinter paused. "It's Ashwinter."**

"**Ashwinter," he murmured, " Ashwinter. What was the day you were born? Do you know?"**

**Ashwinter hissed. Nosy, nosy, nosy! "Of course I know!" she snapped, " I was born on the seventh sunrise of the second moon of Leafbare, two seasons ago!"**

**The tom gasped and backed away from her. "No. No, it can't be," he choked. What was this guy's problem?**

"**Why does any of this matter to **_**you**_**?" she meowed sharply. The tom just shook his head.**

" **What was your mother's name?" he asked.**

" **Like I would tell you!" she replied.**

" **Tell me!" he barked.**

"**NO!" she roared.**

" **What is her name!" the tom yowled.**

" **ECHOSONG!" Ashwinter screamed back.**

**The tom kept backing away, shaking his head. He turned and ran further into the battle. Ashwinter wondered in she should be following him. '**_**No, why waste my time answering his stupid questions in the middle of a battle?'**_** Noticing Blackfeather being mauled by two she-cats, Ashwinter dashed to his side and hauled one off. The she-cat didn't even put up a fight. She just high tailed it and ran. **

" **Thanks," Blackfeather meowed gruffly.**

" **No problem," she replied.**

**A screech filled the crisp night air. Ashwinter's blood ran cold. **_**Equinoxrise!**_** Ashwinter fought her way through the fighting cats to her brother's side. Blood ran from a deep gash along his stomach and from his throat. The calico tom stood over his body.**

" **WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!" Leopardstar had returned. Every cat in the camp stopped. Tigerstar remained on the Hightree. Equinoxrise jolted in a small spasm before laying still. Ashwinter stared at her brother in disbelief. Leopardstar turned to Tigerstar.**

" **How dare you come into **_**my**_** camp and attack **_**my **_**warriors with no reason!" she hissed.**

" **I think you will find I have a rather good reason," Tigerstar replied evenly.**

" **And what is that?" Leopardstar spat.**

**Tigerstar's amber gaze bore into Leoparstar's. " RiverClan will join TigerClan." **

**Leopardstar bristled and looked down at Equinoxrise.**

" **You waltz into my camp," she hissed, " attack my warriors, send one to StarClan, and ask me to **_**join**_** you?!"**

" **On the contrary, I did not kill your warrior. My trusted friend did." Tigerstar meowed.**

" **That was me." The tom spoke up proudly.**

" **You! **_**You **_**killed my brother!" Ashwinter hissed. The tom's eyes widened.**

"**You're…brother?" he whispered.**

" **That's right. You **_**will **_**pay for this!" she yowled. Ashwinter pounced at him, bowling him over. As the tom stood back up, Ashwinter raked her claws across his throat. Blood poured from the wound and the tom toppled over. Ashwinter stood over his body. **

" **I have my vengeance," she hissed.**

" **Ashwinter…I'm so sorry…I didn't know!" he gurgled.**

" ' **Sorry' doesn't bring Equinoxrise back to me and Winterfury." She spat.**

" **Winterfury… Ashwinter…. Really, I am Swiftflight. I am your father." He whispered.**

**Ashwinter gasped and looked from Swiftflight to Equinoxrise to Winterfury to Echosong.**

" **Is this true?" she asked, facing her mother.**

**Echosong's eyes were clouded with grief. She met her daughter's gaze. " Yes. He speaks the truth. You and your brothers are half Clan cats."**

**Swiftflight's eyes glazed over. " I'm so proud of you two…you three…Echosong was right. You would have made great ShadowClan warriors." He gasped before laying still. Ashwinter flinched. Winterfury stood next to her, shocked. Ashwinter padded away from her dead brother and father, past her mother and out of camp. She couldn't stand to look at Echosong right now. Why had she lied? **

" **Dustrise," Leopardfur meowed, " follow Ashwinter. Make sure she will make it back to camp. Don't let her know you're there, just keep an eye on her."**

**Dustrise raced out of camp after her. He followed her stealthily in the bushes. Ashwinter lay down under a small holly bush. She stayed there, past moonhigh, past when the ShadowClan warriors padded out of RiverClan territory. She slept there, engulfed in her pain and sorrow, until the dawn's light. Through that entire time, she knew she was being watched. Not just by one set of eyes, but two. Three when Tigerstar had walked by. Dustrise stayed hidden a little ways away, upwind, his amber eyes never leaving her, never growing tired, almost unblinking. Another cat also watched, high in the trees, they're yellow eyes more relaxed. This cat watched the gray she-cat until dawn peeked over the trees of ThunderClan territory, then slunk away, making no noise; mind still filled with determination and desire.**


	13. Chapter 13 Honeymallow's Wisdom

**Chapter 13**

**Ashwinter padded through the thinning undergrowth. Frost chilled her pads, but she didn't care. Why did life have to be so difficult and annoying? All she could think about was Equinoxrise, lying on the cold ground, watching his life pour out of his belly. Finally, she understood how Crookedstar must have felt when Oakheart had died. And when he found out Silverstream was a traitor. Leaves rustled quietly behind her. Ashwinter stopped and stared at the ground.**

" **I know you're there, Dustrise." She sighed.**

**Dustrise padded out of the bushes and stood next to her.**

" **I'm so sorry," he murmured.**

" **I know. Thank you." She meowed.**

" **Uh…Leopardstar sent me to make sure you were okay…" he explained.**

" **Thanks again," Ashwinter replied.**

" **Yeah, sure," Dustrise meowed.**

**When the two returned to camp, Ashwinter couldn't bear to look at Equinoxrise, laid peacefully in the middle of the camp. Leopardstar approached Ashwinter and Dustrise. **

" **Ashwinter, can I speak to you? Alone?" she asked, glancing at Dustrise. **

**Reluctantly, Dustrise padded away towards the fresh-kill pile, glancing over his shoulder.**

" **Ashwinter, I know this must be so hard for you and Winterfury, but you must live with the thousand lies you've been told." Her leader meowed.**

**Blackfeather and Russetclaw padded past, whispering and throwing frightened looks at her.**

" **They're afraid of you now," Leopardstar commented, watching.**

" **All because of one incident?" she asked.**

" **No. They have always been wary of you. I don't know why." She replied.**

" **What?" Ashwinter exclaimed.**

**Leopardstar looked at her. " You'll understand, all in good time. We all will."**

" **I'm sure. Age is nothing but a number in my mind," Ashwinter retorted.**

" **Just try to be like everyone else. I'm telling you this now, because when things like this happen, cats go…well…they change. Be careful." Leopardstar warned, then walked away. Ashwinter snorted and padded off out of camp again. Honeymallow jumped after her and caught up.**

" **Are you okay?" her friend asked.**

" **I'm sure I'll be fine." Ashwinter replied.**

" **What did Leopardstar want?" Honeymallow inquired.**

" **She told me to be like everyone else. She said I might have changed because of all this…drama." Ashwinter sat down. Honeymallow sat opposite of her.**

" **Do you want to talk about it?" she offered.**

**Ashwinter sighed quietly before beginning.**

" **Can…will…some one tell me what is happening to me? Why am I so misunderstood? Why can't they see? I am not the type of cat who murders without a **_**very**_** good reason!"**

Honeymallow only shook her head.

" **I want to go left when they tell me go right, I don't want to be the little kit they're licking good night. I want to be some one they don't want me to be."**

" **I can see that," Honeymallow meowed.**

" **What do I do?" Ashwinter asked desperately. " I want to fit in!"**

**Honeymallow thought for a moment. " Have you ever considered that maybe you aren't meant to be like every other cat?" she reasoned.**

" **Well, no…" Ashwinter admitted.**

" **I wish I could help you, free you from the hurt and the pain, but I can't! Believe me, I would!" Honeymallow meowed.**

" **I know, Honeymallow. Thank you for your consideration." Ashwinter mumbled.**

" **Let's go back. You should eat something." Honeymallow pushed on her shoulder lightly.**

" **Okay," Ashwinter agreed.**

**Back at camp, Ashwinter chose a small thrush from the fresh-kill pile and settled down with Honeymallow to eat. She noticed the stares and looks had stopped almost altogether. **_**' Thank StarClan'**_** she thought.**

" **Feeling better?" Honeymallow asked.**

" **Much," Ashwinter replied.**

**Just then the reeds in the camp entrance rustled. Tigerstar padded in. Pelts bristled and cats spat in anger. Leopardstar met Tigerstar at the entrance.**

" **What do you want now?" she spat.**

**Tigerstar held her angry stare. **

" **I have come to tell you about TigerClan."**

" **Lay off it, we are NOT joining!" Leopardstar yowled.**

" **I think you may change your mind. You have lost one warrior already. More will fall if you do not join," he meowed, eyeing Equinoxrise's body, " I have a powerful allay, they call themselves BloodClan. BloodClan comes from Twoleg place."**

" **A band of kittypets? How pathetic!" Leopardstar scoffed.**

" **A BloodClan cat is more powerful than any of our Clan cats. If you agree to join TigerClan, you will meet BloodClan and we will work together to take over the forest." He meowed.**

" **And if I refuse?" Leopardstar asked hotly.**

" **You and your Clan will fall in battle, as I have already stated. Every single RiverClan cat will die, drowning in their own blood mixed with ThunderClan's and WindClan's." **

**Leopardstar was taken aback. She glanced over her shoulder at her Clan, then, turning to Tigerstar, reluctantly meowed, " I fear for my Clan's wellbeing. RiverClan will join ShadowClan and BloodClan."**

**Tigerstar beamed. " Good! I will take you to meet BloodClan in one moon. Meet me at Fourtrees. Be ready to leave at dawn. Bring all your warriors."**

" **And risk an attack by ShadowClan?" Leopardstar reasoned.**

" **ShadowClan will not attack RiverClan. You have my word," Tigerstar promised.**

**Leopardstar nodded. " Fine." **

**Tigerstar turned and left the camp without any further words. Leopardstar stared after him.**

" **I wonder if that was the right choice…" Honeymallow murmured as the Clan broke into excited mews.**

" **It had to be. You heard him; he would kill us all if we didn't join him. What choice was there, really?" Ashwinter replied.**


	14. Chapter 14 The Prophecy

Chapter 14

**Mist swirled around Ashwinter. The grass was a pale green, the sky a beautiful shade of purpley-blue. The full moon drifted slowly across the sky, the stars fell steadily towards her. **_**'This must be StarClan' **_**she thought, **_**Of course, it's too good to be true.' **_** The fog in front of her swirled slightly, slowly revealing the shape of a cat. Yellowstar emerged.**

" **Hello Ashwinter, you look well," Yellowstar meowed fondly.**

**Ashwinter dipped her head. " As do you, Yellowstar."**

" **You must be wondering why I summoned you here," Yellowstar guessed.**

" **Uh, I am curious, yes," Ashwinter thought the answer was obvious. **

" **Well then, prepare yourself for what I am going to tell you."**

" **Why? I can't be all that bad…"**

" **I bring an important prophecy," Yellowstar meowed solemnly.**

" **And you think I am the right cat to hear it?"**

" **Of course you are! Don't second-guess yourself. Do you doubt my judgement?" Yellowstar scoffed.**

" **No! No, of course I don't. I'm sorry, Yellowstar," Ashwinter was hot with embarrassment.**

" **This is the prophecy I wanted you to hear:**

**Water and Fire will become one. An Enemy will prove Fire to Water, and life will bloom. The Winter Equinox holds the answers they seek, and the Summer Solstice will be joined by the Shining Day and the Starry Night." Yellowstar finished.**

"… **What does it mean?" Ashwinter asked.**

" **Water is patient, beautiful, calm and victorious. Fire is spontaneous, full of fury, and is handsome and cleaver. The Winter Equinox is mysterious and ominous, the Summer Solstice is sweet yet sly. Day and Night are complete opposites, yet one cannot exist without the other. Young one, you are Water."**

" **I see why you have told me this now…" Ashwinter murmured.**

**Mists began to envelop Yellowstar again. **

" **Wait! Please don't leave me yet! Can you not explain why I am the center of a prophecy?" Ashwinter cried.**

**Yellowstar's words seemed to echo. " Water and Fire…as one. Look into your past, Gray Warrior…one has already voiced this to you." With that, Yellowstar disappeared altogether.**

**Ashwinter shook her head. " Could you not give me a straight answer?"**

**Another shape faded into view. **

" **Greetings, Ashwinter," Equinoxrise meowed.**

**Ashwinter beamed at her brother. " Salutations, Equinoxrise. Have you come to help me?"**

**Equinoxrise nodded. " Yes, sister. But I have come only to enlighten a small part of the prophecy."**

" **Well, what do you have to say?" Ashwinter asked curiously.**

" **A Scourge upon the name of all cats will find you, take you, and will not be afraid to spill Blood for their Clan. Place your faith and trust in Fire." Equinoxrise meowed.**

" **Who is this cat? What will they want from me?" Ashwinter asked, shocked.**

**Equinoxrise shook his head slowly. " I have done my part for you. But this I will say; you will not be alone when the enemy takes you. Please understand that StarClan is powerless to help you," the last sentence came out as a beg.**

" **I do understand, my brother," Ashwinter murmured.**

**Another shape began to appear. A calico she-kit stood next to Equinoxrise, seeming puny compared. She seemed as if she had barely been born, she was so small.**

" **Blood, blood, blood!" the she-kit wailed.**

**Ashwinter took a step back. " Why does one so young an innocent speak of such a horror as blood?" her voice shook slightly.**

**The she-kit yowled again " Blood! Blood will be spilt before there is peace! Love while you can before you lose everything, Gray Warrior!" before fading away as Yellowstar had.**

" **Who is she? What Clan is she from?" Ashwinter demanded.**

" **All in good time, patience is a virtue," Equinoxrise meowed quietly.**

**Ashwinter snorted. " Then answer me this: is she important to the prophecy?"**

**Equinoxrise hesitated before answering. " Yes."**

"**How?" she growled.**

**Equinoxrise sighed. " A word of advice, sister—do not let anger overtake you."**

**Ashwinter thought carefully before answering. " Sometimes anger is the only way to keep your soul alive. When has my temper ever been a problem, anyway?"**

**Equinoxrise shook his head. " No sister, faith preserves you longer. My time with you is nearly spent. Will you look after Winterfury? And Bluefire and Dustrise?"**

**Ashwinter sniffed. " Have I failed you thus far, brother?"**

**A flash of amusement flashed through Equinoxrise's eyes. " No, sister, but it is difficult to ignore the ice of worry."**

" **I understand. I won't let anything happen to our denmates."**

" _**Your**_** denmates," Equinoxrise corrected.**

" **Ah, yes, such a short-spent life you lived…" Ashwinter meowed sadly.**

**Equinoxrise touched his surprisingly warm muzzle to her shoulder. " And yet I regret nothing. Thank-you. We will meet again soon, I promise. I pray for your good health every day."**

**Ashwinter looked at him fondly. " And I for your happiness. May prey be abundant of you and the other warriors of StarClan."**

**Equinoxrise dipped his head. " Farewell."**

**Already he was beginning to fade away.**

" **Goodbye. For now," Ashwinter murmured.**

**The mist tugged at her fur, and suddenly the ground gave way beneath her feet. Ashwinter awoke with a start, slightly shocked.**

" **Water and Fire… oh, Equinoxrise, what does it mean?"**


	15. Chapter 15 There's no Reasoning with Him

**Chapter 15**

**One moon seemed to fly by. No cat was really looking forward to meeting this so-called "BloodClan"…but it was a choice between survival or death. Every animal's natural instinct was to survive. So at dawn Burtail distributed strength herbs between cats—" Just to be sure" she had said—and the warriors set out to Fourtrees.**

" **Goodness, I hope BloodClan is nicer than they sound!" Bluefire exclaimed.**

**RiverClan stopped at the ridge and looked down into Fourtrees. Three cats sat waiting.**

" **Somehow I don't think they are," Ashwinter replied.**

**Leopardstar signaled her Clan and they plunged down. Leopardstar stood in front of Tigerstar. Next to him was a small black tom with one white paw and pale yellow eyes-- "**_**like the sun behind thin clouds**_**" Ashwinter observed—and beside him was a bulky white and black tom. Each wore a kittypet collar—studded with teeth. Cat teeth.**

" **I think your right, Ashwinter," Bluefire whispered.**

" **Unfortunately, so do I," she meowed back.**

**Dustrise and Winterfury padded up and stood next to the she-cats.**

" **I don't like the looks of these cats," Winterfury commented. Dustrise nodded.**

" **Greetings, Leopardstar." Tigerstar dipped his head.**

" **And to you, Tigerstar." She replied.**

" **I would like you to meet the BloodClan leader and Deputy. Scourge and Bone," Tigerstar gestured towards the small black cat then the massive one. The small black tom stepped forwards.**

" **I am Scourge, leader of BloodClan. I thank RiverClan for joining us. I promise you have made the right choice." The tom meowed with quiet authority.**

' His voice is so smooth…he doesn't seem all that bad,'

**Leopardstar dipped her head. " Nice to meet you, Scourge and Bone,"**

" **Yes, quite. I am grateful, really I am, but BloodClan expects a…small payment for your joining," Scourge meowed.**

**Leopardstar stiffened. " What payment do you speak of?" **

**A flash of amusement flickered in Scourge's eyes. " That has yet to be decided," he replied.**

" **Then I will ask you to be reasonable in your reque—" **

**Scourge whipped out his claws—also lengthened by teeth and claws—and ripped them across Whitetail's throat. She gasped in shock before keeling over, never to move again. The rest of RiverClan watched in horror.**

" **No cat will**_** ever**_** ask anything of me! I make my own decisions, and anyone who disagrees will be cut down like the Twolegs do to trees!" he hissed. Bone grunted his agreement.**

" **Oh, great StarClan…she just happened to be closest…" Bluefire gasped.**

**Leopardstar nodded to Scourge. " Then you may take what is ours and we will not ask for anything in return,"**

**Scourge sat back down next to Bone. " Good. Be ready…soon I will come to your camp and take whatever I like as your payment,"**

**Tigerstar's amber gaze hovered over Leopardstar. " You have met BloodClan. Take your dead and go." **

**Leopardstar didn't need to make any signals. Aspenmoon and Blackfeather picked up Whitetail's body and followed their Clan out of Fourtrees. Honeymallow stopped at the top of the ridge and looked back down. Ashwinter padded up to her.**

" **Are you alright?" she asked.**

" **Yes…yeah, I'm fine…those cats are creepy!" Honeymallow's voice shook.**

" **Yes, I agree…let's go before we get left behind!" Ashwinter pushed Honeymallow lightly with her muzzle. Hearing voices back down, she pricked her ears.**

"…**Have you chosen what you will take from RiverClan?" Tigerstar was asking.**

" **Yes. But let it stay as a surprise to you, Tigerstar," Scourge's honey-smooth voice replied. **

**Ashwinter let her ears lay flat, not wanting to hear more.**

Padding through the woven-reed entrance, Ashwinter walked between Bluefire and Honeymallow, trying in vain to calm both her friends down. Leopardstar leaped to the Hightree. The cats gathered beneath it as soon as they were in camp.

" **RiverClan, we have met a band of ruthless cats. We may think BloodClan is nothing more than a mangy band of rouges and have-been kittypets from Twoleg place. In a sense, we are right, but we must realize these cats will shred anyone who defies them to bits. Already over the course of one moon we have lost two great warriors. We cannot afford to lose more. Expect anything when Scourge arrives for something to seal our loyalty," Leopardstar meowed. She jumped down and disappeared into her den. " My warriors, take this day to calm down. I want one hunting patrol and two border patrols go out today," she instructed.**

" **Blackfeather, Bluefire, Winterfury! You go out to hunt. Russetclaw and Honeymallow, take Yellowpaw and Flamepaw out to patrol the ThunderClan border. Echosong, Skyleaf, Burnpelt and Darkflower, patrol the WindClan border and meet up with Russetclaw's patrol on the ShadowClan border." Stonepelt ordered. The three patrols raced out of camp. Ashwinter settled down in the shade of the Hightree. Dustrise lay down next to her.**

" **Are you alright?" he asked.**

" **Of course I'm alright," she mumbled.**

" **Right. Just making sure."**

" **Thanks."**

" **I want you to know, we will get through this. Whatever happens, I'll be there for you," Dustrise mewed.**

' _**Random…Does he sound awkward?'**_

**Ashwinter looked up at him, and he looked down at her.**

" **I know. And I'll be there for you, just like any good friend, " she replied.**

" **Yeah, uh, like…friends." **

" **We better get to sleep. Just to be prepared," Ashwinter sighed.**

" **Okay," Dustrise followed her into the warrior's den.**

**Ashwinter curled up, tail over her nose, and tried to fall asleep, although it was difficult. Dustrise breathed slowly next to her. She was still awake when the cats from the patrols padded in and fell asleep. Finally, sleep overcame Ashwinter and she closed her heavy eyelids.**


	16. Chapter 16 Something's Up

**Chapter 16**

When Ashwinter awoke that morning, she sighed heavily. Already she was convinced that BloodClan had no good intentions for the Clans. Already she had lost her older brother and her aunt to StarClan, fell victim to her mothers and fathers betrayal and lies and witnessed countless, bloody battles. Is this what StarClan had decided her life was going to be like? Desperately, she wished for a turning point in her life before padding out to the fresh-kill pile. Stonepelt padded up to her.

" **Ashwinter, will you go on Blackfeather's border patrol and make sure everything's okay on the ThunderClan border?" he asked.**

" **Yeah, sure thing," she meowed, trying to sound enthusiastic. Too close to the Twoleg borders in her opinion, but she wasn't about to argue with the deputy. Blackfeather, Bluefire and Aspenmoon were waiting by the reed entrance for her. Ashwinter quickly went to join them.**

" **Let's go!" Aspenmoon meowed and leaped through the entrance. Bluefire scrambled after him. Ashwinter followed. Catching up with her Clanmates, she slowed down. They were almost at the ThunderClan border. Ashwinter parted her jaws, but caught no scent.**

" **Nothing," Aspenmoon concluded. Bluefire and Blackfeather freshened the border markers. Ashwinter surveyed the undergrowth across the border, scanning for any BloodClan cats. She doubted any BloodClan cats would venture this far into the forest cat's territory. **_**One can never be too sure…**_** Finding nothing, she turned and walked after Blackfeather towards camp. Aspenmoon and Bluefire chatted a little ways behind. Ashwinter still thought Aspenmoon was arrogant fool, but if Bluefire liked him so much, then she would tolerate him. Even if he didn't seem to like her all that much.**_** Like I care what Aspenmoon would think of me…**_** A flicker of movement caught her eye. Still she got no scent. **_**That's just a little bit weird…movement with no scent? Perhaps it was just the breeze or something… **_**Ashwinter willed that to be true, but there was no breeze. No breeze, no scent, not even a cloud in the sky to indicate any potential wind. The bushes twitched slightly again. Ashwinter paused. Aspenmoon and Bluefire passed her.**

" **Are you coming, Ashwinter?" Bluefire called over her shoulder.**

" **Huh? Oh, yeah, I'll just be a moment…I'll meet you back at camp." Ashwinter replied.**

" **Okay!" Bluefire then continued talking to Aspenmoon.**

**Ashwinter cautiously walked to the bush. **

" **Hello? Is anyone there?" she called softly. No response. And still no scent. Little did she know what she had seen through the bushes was again watching her, far up in a tree, luminous yellow eyes never missing any movement.**

**The cat in the tree scanned the gray female. **_**Ashwinter…**_** So that was her name. **_**Not a very good name, just Ash would have been better… **_**the cat reflected, **_**but that could easily be fixed. Now all I need is the light ginger female's name, then I will have almost everything I want… and then I can take my move….**_


	17. Chapter 17 Oh Crap, Thanks StarClan

**Chapter 17**__**  
**

**The yellow-eyed cat followed Ashwinter back to camp. They didn't go inside the camp…that would be like suicide! They hoped Ashwinter would reveal the ginger cat's name. Listening carefully, they watched and waited…**

Ashwinter yawned widely.

" **Come on, Honeymallow, lets get to sleep." She sighed.**

" **Who's covering night watch?" Honeymallow asked.**

**Ashwinter shook her head " I think Wingflower is."**

" **Alright, as long as we aren't needed."**

**Together the she-cats headed inside the warrior's den. The watching cat didn't miss a word.**_** So the ginger cat's name is Honeymallow…again, just Honey would do. These forest cats have no sense of good naming… **_**the cat jumped out of the bushes **_**but now I know everything I need to know…I can make my move now. **_**Quickly and silently, they scampered off to get their comrades.**

Ashwinter woke in the middle of the night at a hot breath in her ear. Shaking her head she looked up, expecting to see Dustrise or Winterfury. She gasped in shock. Attempting to stand up to face her attacker, Ashwinter was pushed back down. Honeymallow yelped with alarm. A small yet strong paw pressed down on her back, restricting her movements.

" **Whatever you are doing, you won't get away with it!" she hissed.**

**Pale yellow eyes met hers. " I think you may find I already have."**

" **What?!" **_**Why are those eyes familiar?**_

" **Nevermind. And then you forgot you were here…" the cat trailed off as a sour-smelling leaf was pressed to her nose. Ashwinter's vision went blurry and she embarrassingly blacked out.**

**Ashwinter blinked her eyes open. Twoleg scent hit her hard and fast. Yellow eyes met hers again, and then she realized why they had seemed so familiar…**


	18. Chapter 18 I Hate You

**Chapter 18**

Dawn rose over Twoleg buildings, painting the sky orange and pink. Ashwinter squeezed her eyes shut tightly. What were they doing here? Honeymallow began to stir next to her. Looking up, Ashwinter noticed they were in a narrow space between two buildings. Shiny hollow tree stumps dotted the sides. A large blue thing towered above them.

" Where are we? How did we get here?" Honeymallow asked frantically.

" Well, we are somewhere in Twoleg place. How we got here, I can't say," Ashwinter replied.

" Nevermind how you got here," a smooth voice sounded from beneath the blue thing. Scourge slipped out from underneath.

" Why have you brought us here?" Ashwinter meowed sharply.

Scourge's eyes sparkled with something close to cold amusement.

" Let's just say, I have chosen my payment from RiverClan."

" You monster! You can't expect us to just let you keep us here!" Honeymallow yowled.

Scourge cocked his head. " Oh, really?"

" Yeah, really." Ashwinter growled.

He smirked slightly.

" Well, that's too bad. You won't be leaving anytime soon. Trust me. Ashwinter and Honeymallow? What ghastly names, I guess we will have to fix those." He meowed.

Honeymallow shook her head. " You're not changing my name." She defied.

" No, not until I know you two a little better. Then we can choose names that suit your personality," he replied.

" Just a question. Why did you choose us as RiverClan's payment?" Ashwinter asked.

Scourge's eyes softened slightly. " All in good time, my sweets." He meowed softly.


	19. Chapter 19 Panic and Misery

Chapter 19

Ashwinter and Honeymallow had been held captive by Scourge for two sunrises now. He had changed both their names—Ashwinter was now Misery and Honeymallow was Panic. ' Traditional BloodClan names' Scourge had informed them. Neither understood why they were chosen as RiverClan's payment to BloodClan.

" Can you just _tell_ us, please and thanks?!" Honeymallow burst out on the third day.

Scourge's eyes seemed to well with pain.

_That's weird, for a BloodClan cat to show emotion like this. _Ashwinter reflected.

" I…it's so hard to explain," the small black cat began, " please do not think badly of me when you hear it."

Honeymallow rolled her eyes. " Whatever. Just tell us and we'll all sleep easier."

Scourge took a deep breath. " I have been monitoring your camp for moons. First I saw you, Misery. As soon as I laid eyes on you, as much as I hate to admit it, I was lovestruck. I didn't know you at all, but your beauty entranced me. Especially your eyes. You seemed to have a certain grace to your movements. Then I saw Panic. I admired your golden pelt, and I noticed you seemed so kind and perfect. I had not decided what RiverClan's payment would be then, but when I saw you two, I decided immediently. Bone told me I should chose only one of you to take back to BloodClan. But how could I when I loved you both? Tigerstar reluctantly allowed me to choose you two. So I told Leopardstar that I had not yet decided what to take from her."

" In other words, you _lied._" Honeymallow interrupted.

" Well, I feel bad about it now, Panic," Scourge replied.

" Is that all you have to say?" Ashwinter spat, thoroughly disgusted.

Scourge's yellow eyes locked with her blue.

" No. Not quite. I have to tell you the most difficult part still. I chose you two because together you would have been the perfect mate."

Ashwinter snorted. " Yeah, well, we can't magically morph together, so I guess you're out of luck."

Honeymallow nodded her agreement. Scourge flicked his tail.

" Well, let's just say I will miss out on half of my dream. I have decided to let Bone choose one of you for himself. Whoever he does not pick I will take as my own mate."

" Oh, no way. No_ way." _Honeymallow hissed.

His eyes clouded. " I'm sorry. It just wouldn't be fair to either of you…"

" When is Bone going to make his choice?" Ashwinter asked.

" Today or tomorrow. It's up to him," Scourge replied.

Ashwinter grunted angrily and whirled around. She padded back to where her nest was, just outside the big blue thing Scourge slept under. Honeymallow shot an indigent look at the black cat before hurrying after her friend.

" He has nerve, that's for sure," Honeymallow muttered.

" I know. Great StarClan, if he or any other BloodClan cat calls me 'Misery' one more time, I'm going to take them all down myself so we can go back to our Clanmates," Ashwinter agreed so Scourge couldn't hear.

Ashwinter picked at the assortment of leaves, grasses and Twoleg garbage that made up her nest.

" Ashwinter…" Honeymallow warned.

" What?" she snapped.

Honeymallow kept her calmness. " Please keep you temper under control. We need to think about this for a minuet."

Ashwinter stopped shredding her nest. " Fine. But I honestly don't think there is any way around this," she meowed. " And my temper is not a problem!" she added.

" I agree, I don't think we can get out of this. We have to look on the bright side," Honeymallow reasoned.

Ashwinter snorted. " _What_ bright side?"

" Well, we have found toms who love us for us, unconditionally. Maybe we should embrace that fact, because I don't think any cat is coming to save us." Honeymallow meowed.

" They hardly _know _us, Honeymallow. How can they love us?" Ashwinter asked.

" I see why Scourge renamed you Misery. Stop it with the sadistic persona, will you?" Honeymallow pleaded.

" I don't get yours though. Panic doesn't suit you very well."

" Maybe it's because I am nervous all the time." Honeymallow suggested.

Ashwinter thought for a moment. " I guess so."

" Anyway, we are going to have to make the best of it."

" Yeah…I suppose so. You know, I don't think anything in my life has ever gone right."

" You mean, your parent's lies, your father killed your brother, you killed your father, you hate your mother, you're half-Clan, we got stolen and now we face the weirdest and possibly most awkward situation?"

Ashwinter nodded. " Yup, pretty much."

Paw steps sounded behind them. Scourge and Bone appeared from around the corner of the blue thing. Scourge fixed his eyes on the ground.

" **Panic, Misery…Bone has made his decision."**


	20. Chapter 20 Enlightenment

Chapter 20

Honeymallow was gone. Bone had taken her away. Ashwinter stared at the ground, lamenting, wishing her friend were still next to her. Scourge had not uttered a word to her since Bone's decision, about an hour ago. Not that Ashwinter minded much; she would rather be alone. A mouse plopped down in front of her.

" I thought you might be hungry…" compassion seemed to fill Scourge's eyes.

" Thanks," Ashwinter mumbled. She hadn't heard him approach.

An awkward silence squeezed around them. Pulling the mouse closer, she began to eat. It was tasteful despite the awful outward appearance. When she had finished half, Ashwinter pushed the rest to Scourge.

" You have the rest."

Gratefully he settled down next to her and finished it off.

" I'm sorry we separated you and your friend," he meowed.

Ashwinter surpressed a snort. " Not much I could have done about it."

" No, I suppose not."

The sun began to sink behind the Twoleg structures. Scourge sighed and stood up.

" You must be tired. Sleep well," he meowed before departing.

Ashwinter grunted.

" Sleep well, yeah, sure thing. I'll sleep well when I'm back in the forest." She hissed to herself.

Later, Ashwinter slipped into the sleep that enlightened so much to her.

The cool mist swirled around her paws. Looking up, Ashwinter caught sight of her brother, Equinoxrise. Equinoxrise dipped his head.

" Sister, you realize the prophecy is already in play?"

Ashwinter closed her eyes for a moment. " Yes, I figured out that Scourge is the Enemy it spoke of."

Equinoxrise smiled. " Good! But we are pressed for time now. I have come to tell you something important."

Ashwinter perked. " What?"

" Winterfury has changed his name."

" To what?' Ashwinter was intrigued. The mist started to shift again. Suddenly, Ashwinter found herself in the RiverClan camp. The images wobbled slightly, as if they were reflected in water. Cats were talking in hushed voices. Winterfury sat hunched over, his Bengal head bowed. Leopardstar emerged from her den. Winterfury padded over to her.

" Winterfury, RiverClan is sorry for your losses." Leopardstar murmured.

" Thank-you. I have decided that my late brother and sister will live on in RiverClan. I would like to change my name." Her brother meowed.

Leopardstar dipped her head in an understanding type of way.

" What to?"

" Equinoxmoon."

Leopardstar cocked her head. " I don't understand…" she began.

" The moon is pale and white, like the snow of winter. But it has a sheen that reminds me of ash."

" How long have you been watching the moon?" Leopardstar inquired.

Winterfury hung his had once more. " Every night since Ashwinter was taken."

" Very well. I will announce it to the Clan." Leopardstar jumped up to the Hightree.

" Let all cats old enough to eat fresh-kill gather beneath the Hightree!" the RiverClan leader yowled.

Once all the cats had sat down, Leopardstar began.

" As you all know, two of our finest warriors, Honeymallow and Ashwinter, have been stolen from us by BloodClan. The chances of their return are slim. Winterfury has decided to change his name after recent events concerning his sister and brother. From this day onward, he has requested to be known as Equinoxmoon. RiverClan laments with you," Leopardstar retreated into her den.

The scene began to wobble more. Ashwinter turned to Equinoxrise again.

" The Winter Equinox?" she asked for clarification.

Equinoxrise nodded. " He left the Clan."

Ashwinter started. " What?!"

" He left and headed for the mountains."

" Why?"

" Because he is part of the prophecy. It is his destiny," Equinoxrise replied.

Ashwinter shook her head slowly. " I don't understand."

" Watch again," Equinoxrise urged.

The image appeared again. Ashwinter watched closely. When Leopardstar reminded the Clan about her and Honeymallow, Ashwinter noticed Dustrise shake slightly with anger. After she turned to her brother again.

" Dustrise is angry. I wish I could tell them we ware alright."

Equinoxrise nodded. " You must have your faith in the Fire. RiverClan is angry together. The Fire is coming," he meowed as he began to fade.

**Ashwinter sighed and jolted awake under the starlit sky.**


	21. Chapter 21 Terrible Tidings

Chapter 21

She glanced over to see the steady rise and fall of Scourge's flank. _'The Fire is coming…' _Equinoxrise's words echoed in her ears. Ashwinter rested her chin on her paws, trying clear her mind of all thoughts. However, she couldn't keep them from invading her peace. Again she watched the little black cat who lay beneath the large blue thing. _He doesn't seem that bad…_ _maybe I should give him a chance. _Ashwinter resolved. She closed her eyes once more, hoping Equinoxrise would visit her again. She was relieved for a moment to find herself back in StarClan. But a different cat appeared from the mists this time—Swiftflight!

" What do you want?" she spat.

Swiftflight remained calm. " Ashwinter, I need to tell you that you and Honeymallow are going to be held captive for a few more sunrises. Be patient, my little flower."

Ashwinter hissed. " Why send _you_ of all cats to bear this message?"

Swiftflight didn't answer. " Another thing, dearest. Honeymallow is going to need you soon. Desperately need you, she is going to be hit hard by what she deems a tragedy."

" What tragedy? Why were we chosen anyway?" Ashwinter demanded.

Swiftflight held her icy gaze. " Know this—Scourge loves you for who you are. He is gifted in the sense that he can learn much about some one just by being with them for a short amount of time. Realize this is a time of self-learning for him, too."

Ashwinter breathed sharply as her father began to fade away. Swirling darkness engulfed her. _I have been taken from my Clan by a cat that claims he loves me…Honeymallow is going to suffer…and there is nothing I can do about it._

Three days later, Ashwinter lay close to Scourge, sharing body heat. Rain poured down out of the gray sky, and lighting flashed quickly now and again. Ashwinter worried about Honeymallow—not knowing where she and Bone were unnerved her. The rain thudded melodically off the blue thing (which Scourge had ushered her underneath when the storm had blown in).

" I promise Panic is safe." Scourge whispered in her ear.

Ashwinter sighed. " If you say so. And her name is Honeymallow, not Panic."

" Cats should be coming with food soon," he gazed out through the gap beneath the ground and the metal thing they were under.

Ashwinter snorted. " That's like slavery," she muttered.

Scourge's pale yellow eyes turned to her. " You disapprove?"

" We should be getting our own food."

" Ashwinter!" the wail echoed off the buildings. Ashwinter pricked her ears and squeezed out into the open air.

" Misery…?" Scourge followed curiously.

Ashwinter turned to him. " My name is Ash-win-ter." She enunciated. "Not Misery. Ash. Winter."

Scourge opened his mouth to retort when Honeymallow barreled around a corner.

" Ashwinter!" she screeched.

" Honeymallow! I'm right here, what's wrong?" Ashwinter asked with concern.

Rain soaked the golden she-cat's fur. Fear and fury were reflected in her wild eyes.

" Honeymallow…?" Ashwinter prompted.

" I need to talk to you," Honeymallow eyed Scourge, " Alone."

Scourge shrugged and disappeared into his den.

" Ashwinter, I…something's gone terribly wrong. Worse than either of us expected." Honeymallow began, then paused.

Ashwinter leveled her eyes with her friend's. Resisting the urge to shake the water from her quickly growing black pelt, she asked, " What's the matter?"

**Honeymallow dropped her muzzle onto Ashwinter's shoulder and hesitated before whispering, " I'm expecting Bone's kits**."


	22. Chapter 22 The Return Journey

I just really want to Brightsun for being so supportive and optimistic for this story! I really appreciate it. I can't even begin to really express my thoughts for you. Thanks so much!

Chapter 24

Ashwinter ran after Dustrise, who clumsily was knocking any Twoleg waste in his path over. Ashwinter cleared the silver caves and trash—living in Twolegplace for six moons had given her a pretty good feel for her surroundings. Dustrise slowed to a halt.

" She's here. Somewhere." He whispered when she stopped next to him.

" Alright."

The two crept forwards, scanning the darkness for Honeymallow.

" Ashwinter, over here!" Dustrise called softly. Ashwinter slunk over to him, catching Honeymallow's scent and the faint gleam of her pelt in the darkness. Ashwinter flicked her tail to signal Dustrise to stay where he was and slowly padded towards her friend, careful not to wake Bone. Ashwinter prodded Honeymallow with her paw.

" Honeymallow, wake up!"

Honeymallow groggily blinked open her eyes. " Ashwinter? What are you doing?"

" Dustrise came to get us. Come on, we're going home!"

Honeymallow scrambled to her feet.

" Thank StarClan!" she sighed.

Dustrise glanced around. " OK, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to get us out of here the way I came in. We've got to stay completely silent. I don't want BloodClan to know you're gone until morning. Let's go."

Ashwinter nodded and smiled encouragingly to Honeymallow before heading after her Clanmate. Thunder clapped and lightning flashed across the sky. Dustrise slunk around buildings with the she-cats following as rain began to fall.

" Good," he murmured, half to himself, " it's going to be harder for them to follow."

" Don't worry," Honeymallow whispered, " it's been raining non-stop lately."

" I know," he replied.

The three turned around a giant Twoleg nest and arrived back at Scourge's den.

" Wait here a minuet," Ashwinter hissed before stalking slowly up to the box. She ducked her head underneath the edge. Scourge's flanks still rose and fell steadily. Ashwinter backed out and dashed back to her friends.

" Coast's clear. Let's go," she meowed softly.

" OK," Dustrise purred and set himself to leap over the shiny thing he knocked over earlier.

" No, no, no Dustrise!" she hissed in a sudden panic.

" What?" he meowed back.

Ashwinter held his amber gaze. " We need to stay silent, remember? And last time you attempted that, you were less that graceful."

Dustrise opened his mouth like he was going to contradict her, then meowed, " Yeah, well. It was taller when it was upright."

" We'll go around," Honeymallow cut in impatiently.

It _was _a stupid thing to be arguing about. Ashwinter glanced back to Scourge to make sure he was still asleep. The three continued onward and soon came to the Twolegplace fence. Dustrise jumped to the top.

" Hurry, before some stupid kittypet comes to gab on about pointless stuff."

Ashwinter looked over her shoulder to Honeymallow.

" I'll be fine," her friend meowed before the question was spoken.

Ashwinter nodded once and jumped up next to Dustrise. Honeymallow followed with little difficulty despite her slightly swollen belly.

" Well, we know our way back from here," Dustrise meowed as he jumped down and onto the grass. Ashwinter plopped down beside him and bounded after Honeymallow through the ferns. Dustrise ran beside her.

" It's good to have you back, Ashwinter," he meowed, " I've missed you."

" Glad to be back," she replied, smiling.

They arrived at RiverClan camp by early morning. Ashwinter and Honeymallow lay down under the Hightree just in time for the camp cats to emerge from their dens. Dustrise disappeared into the warriors' den.

" Dustrise where were you?" Bluefire's voice floated across the air. Ashwinter smirked.

" Oh, just came back from the dirtplace." Came his reply.

" You look really tired," his sister observed.

" I am, so I think I'll just sleep for a little while longer…"

" OK."

Bluefire padded out into the clearing with Aspenmoon and began to walk towards the freshkill pile before stopping dead in their tracks. Bluefire stared for a moment before racing over to Honeymallow and Ashwinter.

" Oh wow! Ashwinter, Honeymallow, I…what…?" Bluefire was at a loss for words.

" Yeah, we missed you too," Honeymallow meowed as the rest of RiverClan raced out of their dens to see the missing warriors.


	23. Chapter 23 Swiftflight's Explainations

Chapter 25

Ashwinter lay down and huffed quietly in her old nest. All the paraphernalia over Honeymallow and her was very tiring. Ashwinter was grateful the attention had turned to getting Honeymallow settled in the nursery. There was only one thing weighing down her mind. Equinoxmoon's absence ate at her heart. Ashwinter missed her brother terribly. She closed her eyes, desperately trying to slip into sleep. She was still awake when the other warriors slipped quietly into the den.

When Ashwinter opened her eyes, she found herself in StarClan. Swiftflight stood over her. Ashwinter sighed. She didn't especially like talking to her father. Swiftflight only rolled his yellow eyes at her annoyance.

" Are you going to explain my dream to me?" she asked bitterly.

" No," her father answered, " the dream is self-explanatory."

Ashwinter snorted. " Hardly."

Swiftflight gestured to her with his tail. " Walk with me."

Ashwinter reluctantly pounced up beside him.

" If you're not here to tell me about my dream, what am I here for?"

" To learn more about the prophecy," Swiftflight replied simply.

" Okay…"

" There is a war coming. The deadliest war than the cats of the Clans will ever see."

Ashwinter paused for a moment. " The prophecy says an enemy will prove Fire to Water. Is that enemy Scourge?"

Swiftflight nodded. " You now know who three of the cats mentioned in the prophecy are."

" And I'll need to just figure out who the others are?"

" Well, in a way yes."

Ashwinter cocked her head. " What do you mean in a way?"

" Nevermind."

Ashwinter reflected on the prophecy. " What's a solstice anyway?" she asked.

Swiftflight smiled. " A summer solstice is the longest day in Greenleaf and a winter solstice is the longest day in Leafbare."

Ashwinter nodded slowly. " Okay…so what's an equinox then?"

" Echosong never explained it?"

" I…probably wasn't listening."

Her father sighed quietly. " An equinox is the shortest day. Basically the opposite of a solstice."

" Why did you name Equinoxrise that? How did you know what it was?" Ashwinter asked.  
" StarClan told us we needed to name him Equinoxkit. They told us it had to do with a prophecy," he answered.

" How did StarClan know?"

" Some watch Twolegs in they're spare time, which we happen to have a lot of."

Ashwinter shuddered. " I can't imagine why you'd bother."

Swiftflight smirked. " Don't ask me why they do it."

They walked in silence for a while. The forest shimmered around them.

" When is this battle going to come?" Ashwinter meowed.

Swiftflight hesitated. " Not for a while."

" Good," she replied softly before awaking.

Weak sunlight filtered through the reeds that made the warrior's den. Ashwinter stepped out into the empty camp clearing and scooped up a mouse from the fresh-kill pile. She chewed thoughtfully, thinking about her visit in StarClan. A battle was coming soon. A big one. The Clans better get their acts together before the biggest storm of rats yet turns up to turn them all into crowfood.


	24. READER'S NOTICE!

**NOTICE TO READERS!**

I know I promised to finish this story within the summer of 2010, however, due to complications and such, I don't think I will accomplish this goal. So far, I've only managed to write one more chapter.

Please don't expect regular updates during the first couple months of this upcoming school year. I'm going to have to get used to high school—I've heard horror stories, so I want to do the best I can in my freshman year.

I'm really, really sorry. I promise I will complete this story before summer 2011. It may take a while because I am going to be turning my attention to a few of my other stories over this school year. These stories include:

Revolution and Retribution ( X-men)

Last Legacy ( not a fanfic—under Lovely Bones)

And other Fan fictions I have not posted, which I hope to post as soon as I have more work done on them. These include:

-Odyssey (House of Night)

-The Pessimist (Dinosaur)

I refuse to drop Ashwinter's Fate: the Gray Warrior's Prophecy, so I will finish it, just please, please be patient. The story is almost finished, and it will be the first fanfic I've ever completed.

Thanks for your understanding!

~ Vixen


	25. Chapter 25 What's in a Name?

Chapter 26

Ashwinter sat in the cozy nursery with her tail wrapped over her paws. Honeymallow sat facing her in the far right corner. Smoketail dozed in the far left corner—her and Blackfeather's kits were due to arrive any day now.

" Did Burtail mention how many kits you're going to have?" Ashwinter asked curiously.

Honeymallow nodded. "Yes, she said there would probably be about two."

Her friend beamed at her.

" Do you have any names in mind?"

Ashwinter watched Honeymallow's face fall for a moment and felt a pang of regret—did she say something wrong?

" No, I'm sort of stuck. I want to name one of them after something in the medicine cat den, like a herb or something, but I don't know where to begin."

Ashwinter asked " Well, can I help you with it?" She knew it wasn't exactly her place to ask.

Honeymallow instantly brightened. " Sure!"

"Okay! Let me think…" she tried to think of herbs she had seen medicine cats use in the past. " Well, there's borage, burdock, catmint, chervil, and goldenrod…but none of those are really good for a name…"

Honeymallow thought for a second. " There's comfrey and dock and honey…"

" And lavender and marigold, juniper, and thyme," Ashwinter continued.

Honeymallow picked it up from there. " Tansy, yarrow, watermint, garlic, horsetail, coltsfoot, and stinging nettle," she took a short breath, " Those are all the ones I can remember."

Ashwinter nodded slowly. " I think the best out of the list were chervil, honey, lavender, marigold, juniper, thyme, yarrow and tansy."

"And nettle, if you took 'stinging' out of it," Honeymallow added.

" True, true. I think frost, birch, willow and ivy would be good choices too."

" Oh! How about Blackkit or Sunkit or Nightkit?" Honeymallow asked. Ashwinter nodded her head in approval.

" And you could name them Coudkit or Yellowkit or Rainkit or Moonkit or Daykit or Firekit, or…. or…."

Honeymallow purred. " Slow down! I can't use them all…I have to save some for you!"

Ashwinter snorted. " Me? Have kits? I think not!"

" You never know…anyway, I like Yarrowkit, Frostkit, Cloudkit and Ivykit out of all of them…I'll just have to narrow it down to two."

" Nice. It all depends on whether they're she-cats or toms, though."

Honeymallow smirked. "Yeah, and their colouration. Cloudkit could go both ways, though. Frostkit could too, I guess."

" Oh, please, do keep going…your conversation is helpful," Smoketail spoke up.

" Sorry if we disturbed you, Smoketail," Honeymallow apologized.

Smoketail shook her head. "No, no, no. Really, I need to figure out some names pretty soon, too!"

" How many kits are you going to have?" Ashwinter asked her former mentor.

" Burtail told me five," she answered.

Honeymallow inhaled sharply. " Oh, jeez. You're going to have your paws full!"

Smoketail nodded, smiling slightly.

" You could use Blackkit if one looks like Blackfeather. Plus, it would be like naming it after its father, so it's honourable," Ashwinter suggested.

Again Smoketail nodded. " Moonkit's a nice name as well. So now I really just need three more…"

" You could have a Sunkit, too, if there's one that's the complete opposite of the Moonkit," Honeymallow meowed brightly.

" Honeymallow," Smoketail asked suddenly, " is there anyone who's going to help you with your kits? Like a tom?"

Honeymallow looked confused. " You mean, be like a father to them?"

" Exactly."

" Uh…no. No, I don't think any tom is interested."

" Well, what about Russetclaw?" Ashwinter inquired, " He's always in here." I t was true—he often visited these queens.

Honeymallow sighed slightly. " Yeah, he comes to talk to us."

Smoketail smirked. " I think he'd be happy to help you out. Haven't you noticed the way he looks at you?"

" Uh…. no…"

Smoketail nodded knowingly. " I see."

Honeymallow pricked her ears. " Ashwinter, I think Dustrise is looking for you," she meowed, looking out the nursery entrance.

Ashwinter pricked up her ears as well and faintly heard some one call "Ashwinter!"

" I think you're right, I better go see what he wants," she replied. " See you guys later."

" Bye," Honeymallow meowed.

Smoketail nodded her goodbye.

Ashwinter squeezed out of the nursery and into the camp clearing. She trotted towards the elder's den.

" Ashwinter! There you are!"

Ashwinter turned to see the dark tabby brown tom rushing towards her.

" What's up, Dustrise?" she asked, turning to face him fully.

" Well, I was just wondering if you'd like to go hunting with me."

Dustrise looked sort of nervous, like he was afraid of her saying no.

Ashwinter smiled at him. " I'd love to. Where are you planning to go?"

The sheepishness melted out of his face. " I thought we could go down to the river."

" Sounds good to me!" she tried to sound overly enthusiastic—she didn't want him to think she was unwilling to come.

He grinned. " Okay, let's go!"

Ashwinter pounced after him with a huge smile on her face.


	26. Chapter 26 Confessions

When they arrived at the river, Ashwinter settled down on a sunny rock next to the flowing water. Dustrise jumped up next to her. His paw was poised over the water. Ashwinter watched him gracefully flick a fish up next to her. She quickly killed it before it could flop back.

" Great catch," she purred, "It's big enough to feed both Honeymallow and Smoketail!"

"Thanks."

For a great deal of time, they caught unsuspecting fish. The two had quite a substantial amount between them in no time at all.

" Let's get all this back to camp," Dustrise meowed, rising.

" Okay," Ashwinter agreed, nodding.

Gathering as much fish as possible, they padded off back in the direction of the camp. Soft undergrowth tickled her belly and the air smelled of soil due to the previous rainstorms. Dustrise paused and placed his freshkill on the ground. Ashwinter stopped and looked back at him after placing her bundle down, too.

"Is something wrong, Dustrise?" she asked.

He was silent for several moments. "Do you smell that?"

Ashwinter raised her muzzle and inhaled. A disgusting smell tickled her nose and made her fur stand on end.

" ShadowClan," Dustrise growled.

"ShadowClan," she agreed.

"Come on," Dustrise pushed past her, following the scent.

"What about the fish?" she meowed under her breathe.

"Leave them for now."

Ashwinter reluctantly followed her clanmate through the undergrowth. Suddenly, he paused and crouched down. She moved in next to him and peered out through the ferns. Four ShadowClan warriors were fighting over a dead water vole—prey that was rightfully RiverClan's. Dustrise burst out through the leaves with Ashwinter close behind.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? That's RiverClan kill!" he yowled.

A black and white tabby turned her head to face them.

" My, my, what do we have here? Two lone RiverClan warriors? We're in an allegiance with you and without us, your pathetic little clan would have been run out of the forest by now," she scoffed.

" You have no right to take food that is rightfully ours!" Ashwinter hissed.

The tabby she-cat padded up to her, her nose inches away from Ashwinter's. "What are _you_ going to so about it?"

Instead of giving an answer, Ashwinter unsheathed her claws and swiftly slashed her paw across the other female's eyes. She yowled in shock and pain as Dustrise launched himself at the others. They were outnumbered, so the stakes were not leaning in their favor—two against one. As they all fought, fur and screeches of fury flying everywhere, Ashwinter noticed the bracken to her left twitching occasionally. Finally, when the black and white she-cat called to her clanmates to return to pull back and return to their own camp, Ashwinter stalked quietly to the suspicious ferns. She stared intently through the leaves.

"Ashwinter, come on…" Dustrise began.

"Ssh!" she shushed him quickly.

Silently, she jumped through the bracken and landed on another cat. Although she didn't know who it was, they tumbled and wrestled with the occasional hiss. When she had him pinned she pressed her weight down on his chest and looked down at her victim.

"Bluefire! I thought I smelt a rat…" she meowed.

Bluefire grunted, "Get. Off. Me."

Ashwinter removed her paws from her friend's chest and Bluefire rolled over. She shook the grass out of her sleek blue coat.

"I heard a fight," she ventured to explain.

"You did," Dustrise replied, padding up, "ShadowClan warriors. We took care of them."

" Are either of you hurt?" Bluefire asked.

"I'm not," Ashwinter meowed, looking at Dustrise for his answer.

" I have a few scratches, but I'm otherwise good."

Bluefire nodded once.

"Well, come back to camp anyway," she mewed, flicking her tail.

"We weren't quite finished hunting," Dustrise spoke up, "but we'll be back soon."

Bluefire shot him a knowing look. "Fine. But don't take too long."

Dustrise nodded to she sister. He watched her bound through the ferns. When she was out of sight, he turned to his companion.

"Ashwinter, I need to tell you something important," he sighed.

She smiled, "Okay."

"Walk with me."

Side by side, they walked off back towards the river. The sun was beginning to set, setting the water on fire. The current pulled rhythmically at the shore. Larks twittered their evening songs as the two settled down at the water's edge. For several moments they sat in silence.

" What is it you wanted to tell me?" Ashwinter inquired.

Dustrise inhaled deeply and closed his eyes for a moment. He then met her gaze seriously.

"I love you."


	27. Chapter 27 Worry

Chapter 28

Sun filtered through the nursery's thatched roof. It dappled the ground, lighting up the grasses and ferns that made up the floor. Smoketail shifted slightly in the far corner. A small protest accompanied the movement from one of her kits, Skykit. Ashwinter opened her eyes. Honeymallow emitted soft snores from her left.

Ashwinter rolled onto her side. Sunlight warmed her swollen belly. She closed her eyes once more and relished the moment of solitude. Truth be told, being cooped up in the nursery with two litters of kits, soon to be three, was getting to be rather tedious. Burtail had announced she was expecting three kits of her own—Dustrise had been particularly proud. Ashwinter, however, eventually began to envy her mate. He got to hunt, to fight, and to patrol boarders, while she was stuck lolling about all day in the stuffy den with two other queens and seven kits. It was going to be too crowded.

A rustle of the reeds at the entrance drew her attention. Dustrise appeared carrying a pair of mice. He let them fall to the ground in front of her.

"Hi," he mewed.

"Hi," she answered.

"I thought you might be a bit hungry. So they're both for you…I thought I'd stop in before I left for patrol."

Patrol. The word made a pang of longing shoot through her stomach.

"Thanks," she replied after a moment, "but you can have one—I'm not that hungry."

It was a lie he saw right through.

"I already ate. Besides you need to eat more than usual now…it's obvious you're hungry."

Ashwinter reframed from rolling her eyes. So maybe she was hungry. That didn't mean anything—she could eat as much or as little as she pleased. She hooked the mice on her claws and pulled them towards her.

"Fine. Thanks," she mumbled.

Dustrise drew his tongue over her ear. "You're welcome."

Ashwinter licked him back. "Have fun on your patrol…"

"I'll try my hardest," he grinned.

She shook her slightly in amusement.

" Be careful!" she called as he left. He flicked his tail in acknowledgement.

"You know, he's a grown warrior…he can look after himself just fine," Honeymallow yawned.

Her companion was quiet for a moment.

" I know," she sighed, "but these are dangerous times. We all need to be careful."

Honeymallow nodded in agreement.

"That doesn't mean you need to worry now. It could get a lot more dangerous out there than it already is."

"I knew that too. But I can't help but worry."

Honeymallow rolled over onto her back. Her kits, Yarrowkit and Ivykit, scrambled back next to her for extra warmth.

"I can't help but feel I need to be there with him. Just in case."

"In case of what?" Honeymallow inquired.

Ashwinter shook her head. "I don't know."

"Trust me, he'll be fine. He's not going alone anyway; there will be others there too. Dustrise is a grown, mature warrior. He can look after himself," she pointed out again.

Ashwinter gazed out the nursery entrance. "I hope you're right…"

Dustrise slunk through the undergrowth along the river, following Russetclaw closely. His companion poked his head out through the reeds long enough to scour the banks for rivals. Dustrise scented the air quickly just in case.

"So, what's up between you and Honeymallow?" he asked in an attempt to make friendly conversation.

Russetclaw huffed quietly. "Well, I love her but I don't know how she feels about me."

"Why don't you tell her how you feel?"

Russetclaw whipped around to face his clanmate.

"Are you insane?"

"No. A bit mad, yes. But insane? No."

Russetclaw fixed his gaze on the ground. "I just don't want to ruin my chances with her."

Dustrise paused as his clanmate turned and continued moving.

"If you tell her how is it going to break what you have?" he asked and began walking after Russetclaw.

"If I tell her she could completely reject me. I don't want to run that risk," Russetclaw replied.

"Honeymallow wouldn't do that…"Dustrise began, trying to comfort his companion.

Russetclaw's eyes flashed with anger.

"Wouldn't she? After what she went through? She's stuck in the nursery for a reason, Dustrise! She has those kits to look after when she didn't even want them. They shouldn't be here! What makes you think she would just be okay with having another tom lusting after her? Even if he is from a clan, it doesn't matter! She's obviously traumatized and I don't want to make it worse!" Russetclaw hissed.

Dustrise was taken aback. "How could you say something like that? You know, she might feel alone, and yes she's traumatized, but that doesn't mean she doesn't need you! Honeymallow knows the difference between a mindless, loveless killer and sensible warrior, and she's gracious enough to accept help, even if it's the least you offer!"

Russetclaw didn't reply-he only focused on something out of Dustrise's line of sight. His eyes shook in their sockets and his breathing slowed.

"Russetclaw…?" Dustrise ventured.

Russetclaw flicked his tail for silence. "There's something out there."

Dustrise crouched down and peered out of the bracken. He scented the air again, but still caught nothing.

"I don't see anything…" he whispered.

Russetclaw opened his mouth to reply but was cut short when a wily brown body slammed into him. Dustrise didn't think about throwing himself at the attacker—he just did it with a screech of fury. Before he knew it numerous cats—WindClan warriors—surrounded them. Russetclaw and Dustrise fought back against the raid party with all their strength, but it wasn't enough. It was too unfair a fight, having an entire WindClan party against two RiverClan warriors. Dustrise prayed to StarClan that the rest of his patrol could hear the fight. He prayed they would come to their aid.

Suddenly a large paw appeared out of no where and swiped claws across his muzzle. Dustrise hissed and wasted no time blinking the blood out of his eyes. He pounced on his attacker and drew his hind claws down the other cat's belly. The WindClan warrior yowled and managed to jump away. They circled eachother while they recovered. Dustrise noticed Russetclaw having a hard time with three opposing warriors. He prepared himself to jump in and even the odds, but his own attacker had apparently recovered from Dustrise's weaker attack and launched himself at the dark tabby. The warrior weighed more than he looked. The attack threw Dustrise down the slope and onto the stone riverbank, winding him. The WindClan tom swiftly followed him to the water. Dustrise tried to scramble up in time to meet the tom, but WindClan warriors have speed on their side. The tom barreled into Dustrise again before he had a chance to even think about fleeing to the water. He was knocked back onto his side, sharp rocks tore into his skin. In one final act to triumph over his opponent, the tom slammed his paw down onto Dustrise's head, banging it against a particularly large rock and knocking him out cold. Just before his vision faded, Dustrise saw Burnpelt, Bluefire and Darkflower burst out of the foliage and knew his prayers had been answered.


	28. Chapter 28 Told You So

Chapter 29

"Ashwinter!" a paw prodded her side cautiously, "Ashwinter! Wake up!"

"Huh…?" Ashwinter grumbled, blinking rapidly a few times. Honeymallow stared down at her with a worried expression.

"What?" she asked.

Honeymallow looked out the nursery entrance fleetingly. "Something's happened. Come quickly."

Regretfully, Ashwinter rose and stretched, yawning. Honeymallow turned, halfway out of the nursery.

"Come on! There's no time to waste!" she meowed urgently.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Ashwinter replied, following closely now.

A large congregation of cats was circled around the medicine cat den. Ashwinter fought her way through the crowd behind Honeymallow when suddenly she stepped to the side. Ashwinter caught sight of a beaten, dark brown body. Her voice caught in her throat and a block of ice seemed to weigh down her belly.

"No…" she choked.

Rushing to the body, she swallowed a deafening screech. Pausing over the seemingly still figure, she hesitated and gazed up at Burtail.

"He's not…don't say…" she stuttered.

Burtail made no move of reassurance or comfort. Ashwinter placed a paw gently on the figure's chest, as if she would snap it in half were she too rough. Slowly, ever so slowly, she rolled him over and stared into the mangled face of her mate. She briefly buried her muzzle into his tabby fur. His pelt was soft, the skin warm, with the faint sound of a heartbeat. Reassured, she lifted her head again and asked with a fierce tone laced with shock:

"Who did this?"

"WindClan," came the reply.

She looked up and met Russetclaw's gaze. She hadn't noticed him hidden in the darkness. He was also badly cut up and would, no doubt, carry scars for seasons to come.

"They came silently and ambushed us when we were alone. We didn't stand a chance," he continued.

"They ran off when we showed up," Darkflower added.

Before Ashwinter could reply, another voice cut into the conversation.

" Why was Dustrise and Russetclaw alone? Where was the rest of the patrol?" Leopardstar interrupted.

"We were up ahead a ways. We left them to make sure the river was clear," Burnpelt explained.

"Evidently you were too far ahead," Leopardstar meowed coolly.

"We're sorry, Leopardstar," Darkflower hung her head.

"It won't happen again," Bluefire added.

Leopardstar sniffed indignantly. "See to it that it doesn't."

A soft breath rustled Ashwinter's fur.

"He'll be fine, don't worry," Burtail whispered.

"I'll try my hardest," she replied quietly, "but I'm not making any promises."


	29. Chapter 29 This Rising Storm

Hey guys, long time no update; I do apologize for not getting this chapter done earlier! Well I hope you enjoy it…  
And P.S- Reviews would be much appreciated, I don't get a lot of them but I think if I got more I'd write for you faster! Special thanks to Brightsun (even though I haven't heard from you in forever…) for really keeping this story going. THANKYOU! =D

Chapter 30

Storm clouds rolled in on a chilling breeze. Thunder rumbled in the distance as Ashwinter's body convulsed and a fresh wave of pain wafted over her.

"Not long now," Burtail soothed.

"What, the kits or the storm?" Ashwinter muttered.

Burtail didn't justify her snide remark with an answer. It annoyed her that Ashwinter insisted on kitting with little to no help, but it wasn't going to help by arguing with a headstrong queen. Honeymallow and Smoketail had bundled their kits off for a tour of the camp in an attempt to keep them out of her and the queen's fur, but with a storm of such magnitude approaching so swiftly, Burtail doubted the solitude would last long.

Outside, Burtail could faintly hear Dustrise breathing shallowly. Of course he had insisted on hobbling his way out of the medicine den to experience the arrival of his kits.

_Just as well, _she thought, _You never know; his condition could get worse._

Burtail's attention was drawn back to the queen when Ashwinter let out a pained grunt.

"Why is this taking so long?" she choked out.

Burtail couldn't rightly say, so she kept silent. Peering out the nursery entrance from her position within, Burtail watched the approaching clouds. A large clap of thunder threatened to deafen her while lightning sliced through the clouds like a claw. The wind carried the terrified shrieks of kits outside accompanied by Smoketail's soothing voice.

Ashwinter's body rippled once more. The she-cat gasped as the first of her kits fell gently to the ground in a wet, furry mass.

"Congratulations, you have a very strong son," Burtail purred.

Ashwinter purred in reply as the medicine cat busied herself with licking the tom into consciousness. A moment of uneasiness passed through her mind—she wondered if it was a mistake to let the other queens leave.

_StarClan, I can't do this all by myself!_

Ashwinter squeezed her eyes shut as another kit snaked its way out to join its brother.

"What…" Ashwinter mumbled, her strength so sapped she could hardly part her jaws.

"A little she-cat…she's beautiful," Burtail reported.

Burtail busily licked the she-kit over, trying to be as delicate as possible. She decided not to tell Ashwinter her new daughter was so fragile and weak—for a moment, Burtail was afraid this kit hadn't made it, but let out a relieved sigh when she let out a frail mew. Dustrise paced nervously and unevenly back and forth outside.

Burtail rested a paw over the queen's belly. "One more," she promised.

Ashwinter gritted her teeth as one final spasm overtook her body. Her final kit left her and joined the world with a final sigh from Ashwinter. Burtail didn't need to be asked twice.

"Another she-cat. Congratulations—this one's a fighter!" Burtail exclaimed as the she-kit gave out a startled squeak.

Burtail was guiding the last kit to her mother when Dustrise stuck his head in.

"Can I come in now?"

Burtail nodded, "Of course."

Dustrise limped his way into the nursery and buried his muzzle into his mate's fur.

"Congratulations," Burtail meowed warmly as she squeezed her way out into the camp's clearing.

Rain spattered the ground lightly as another streak of lightning lit up the sky. Smoketail and Honeymallow ushered their kits back into the nursery.

_Surefire way to annoy Ashwinter… _Burtail mused.

A howling wind picked up. It pierced through her pelt, clawing at her skin. Burtail shivered. She picked up her pace a little bit—a sick medicine cat would be no use to the Clan. Outside her den, Burtail paused. The wind sounded eerier than usual. For a few heartbeats she thought she could hear a voice mingled with the screaming wind. Straining her ears, Burtail found this thought to be true. She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to hear what was trying to be said. The wind threatened to knock her off her own paws, sending leaf and dirt particles swirling and spiraling around her. The voice caressed her ears and what was whispered to her Burtail found little ways to comprehend— _"Love will kill the Gray Warrior…"_


	30. Chapter 30 Extinguished Childhood

Chapter 31

Ashwinter surpressed a grunt of annoyance as Daykit tumbled roughly on top of her.

"Sorry Mama!" he squeaked.

Ashwinter flicked her ear in response, "Be careful, okay?" she warned.

"Yes, Mama," Daykit mewled obediently.

The light gold kit scrambled off once more to wrestle with his sisters. Ashwinter closed her eyes contently, listening to the excited squeals of her kits. At nearly four moons, the three of them were growing quickly. The passage of time after which they had been born went by surprisingly fast—leaving the proud parents amazed at the fact that soon their little babies would be apprenticed.

"Mama," Solsticekit began, "can we go outside? There's not enough space in here!" She eyed the sunlight dappling the lined ground of the nursery.

"Well…" Ashwinter replied thoughtfully. Her daughter was right, there really wasn't any room for the rough games of three kits inside the small den anymore, but she still thought they were too young to be outside. What would happen if they strayed too far from her?

"Please?" Solsticekit pressed.

"Oh, do we have to? Can we just stay here?" Nightkit, Ashwinter's other daughter, piped up cautiously.

Nightkit was frail, her mother observed once again. Much smaller than her siblings. The black shekit didn't take too kindly to Daykit's and Solsticekit's wrestling. In many ways, the little one reminded Ashwinter of her deceased brother.

Shaking the comparison from her mind, Ashwinter looked at her kits and mewed softly, "Go ahead, but make sure you stay just in front of the nursery, okay?"

With excited yowls as replies, she watched them charge off and out of the den. With an amused purr to herself, Ashwinter hauled herself to her paws and followed her children closely. She blinked painfully as daylight flooded her vision. She was much more accustomed to the darkness of the nursery.  
Ashwinter settled down with her tail wrapped around her paws as her kits roughhoused. Leopardstar picked her way around the kits to address their mother.

"Leopardstar," Ashwinter greeted her leader, dipping her head courteously.

"Ashwinter," Leopardstar meowed warmly, "How are the kits?"

"They're doing very well, thank you. They've grown up too fast."

"Indeed," Leopardstar replied, "I should like to apprentice them soon."

Ashwinter was taken aback. "So soon?"

Leopardstar sighed. "Yes. RiverClan is in desperate need of warriors. This business with BloodClan is intensifying."

"Not my kits," Ashwinter meowed defiantly, "Not them. They're too young to be wrapped up in this."

Leopardstar turned her amber gaze on the queen. "Ashwinter, they were wrapped up in this since the time you were pregnant. They're strong, fine kits. You should be proud."

"I am proud," Ashwinter replied hollowly. It was the truth, she was—but her stomach sunk at the thought of her babies faced with battle two moons early. She wanted them safely in the nursery, not out fighting full-grown warriors.

"Then I'd like to apprentice them four sunrises from now. I need time to choose their mentors."

Ashwinter nodded bleakly. She knew there was no use arguing with her leader. With a curt nod, Leopardstar took her leave. Ashwinter remained rooted to the spot, staring at her kits with wide eyes.

"Mama?" Daykit squeaked, "What did Leopardstar say?"

Ashwinter blinked quickly. Fighting the impending feeling of dread in her belly, she purred loudly.

"Nothing," she mewed, giving him a quick lick of affection, "Nothing. Now, you three stay here, okay? I have to speak with your father."

After their obedient nods, Ashwinter rose to her paws and padded around the camp. Finally, she caught sight of Dustrise by the entrance. She hurried over to him, watching him walk to meet her.

"My love," he greeted her.

"Hello," she purred, giving him a lick.

"What's the matter?" he inquired, picking up on her nervous air. His eyes flashed with concern.

"Leopardstar has decided to apprentice the kits early," Ashwinter whispered.

Dustrise stood motionless for a moment, his tail flicking with shock. "When?" he asked quietly.

"In four days."


End file.
